CHAOTIC AND PERIODIC DYNAMICS OF A SLIDER-CRANK MECHANISM WITH SLIDER CLEARANCE

The problem of a planar slider-crank mechanism with clearance at the sliding (prismatic) joint is investigated. In this study the influence of the clearance gap size, bearing friction, crank speed and impact parameters on the response of the system are investigated. Three types of responses are observed: chaotic,. transient chaos and periodic. It is shown that chaotic motion is prevalent over a range of parameters which corresponds to high crank speeds and/or low values of bearing friction with relatively ideal impacts. Periodic response is generally observed at low crank speeds and also at low values of the coefficient of restitution. Poincare maps and statistical profiles of the impact locations and severity are used to characterize the motion and to obtain information regarding possible patterns of wear due to repeated impacts. As expected, chaotic motions lead to quite uniform distributions of impacts, while periodic motions lead to highly localized impact locations. It is also shown that the system response is essentially unpredictable over a wide range of parameters, thus casting doubt on the usefulness of Such models for accurate prediction purposes.