A multibody-dynamics based method for the estimation of wear evolution in the revolute joints of mechanisms that considers link flexibility

Abstract

Mechanical systems are subject to multiple imperfections due to manufacturing and assembly defects, or to wear. Wear critical, because it involves degradation of the joints, increased clearances and, hence, increased contact forces, fatigue, etc. Although the computational estimation of wear evolution and its effect on the system can be difficult, multibody dynamics simulations have proved to be very useful.In this work, the aim is developing a method for simulating wear in revolute joints of planar mechanisms considering flexibility in the links, for obtaining realistic information about the evolution of the dynamic behaviour and the degradation of the mechanism. The proposed method is based on the multibody dynamics approach and provides a detailed description of the involved phenomena (flexibility, contact and wear), seeking a good compromise between accuracy and efficiency. To this end, it combines several modelling procedures that are scattered in the literature.The method is applied to the case study of a slider-crank mechanism with a flexible coupler. Results show that consideration of flexibility strongly affects the mechanism behaviour and the estimation of wear evolution in the joint.