An Approach for Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems with Multiple Clearances Using Lagrangian Mechanics

The paper develops a general procedure for the dynamic analysis of planar mechanisms with multiple clearance. The analysis mainly relies on determining the clearance angles βi at mechanism revolutes for each phase of the analysis. The governing equations of each clearance angle are developed using Lagrangian mechanics. The solution is obtained in the form of sufficient number of harmonic terms and used to evaluate systematically kinematic and dynamic quantities of the mechanism. A slider-crank mechanism with three revolute clearances is analysed to illustrate the procedure.