Three-Dimensional Wear Prediction of Four-Degrees-of-Freedom Parallel Mechanism With Clearance Spherical Joint and Flexible Moving Platform

Three-dimensional (3D) wear of the clearance spherical joint in four-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) parallel mechanism is predicted based on Archard's wear model. The flexible moving platform is treated as thin plate element based on absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF). The tangent frame is introduced to formulate the constraint equation of universal joint. One of the spherical joints is treated as clearance joint. The normal and tangential contact forces are calculated based on Flores contact force model and modified Coulomb friction model. In order to predict 3D wear, the normal contact force, tangential contact velocity, and eccentricity vector are decomposed in the global coordinate system. Simulation results show that 3D wear occurred in three directions are not uniform each other.