Correlation dimension and bifurcation analysis for the planar slider-crank mechanism with multiple clearance joints

Joint clearance serves as a crucial element of nonlinearity in multibody systems. The quantization of the system chaos is conducive to not only the understanding of the nonlinear nature but the rationalization of system controlled parameters. In the present work, the system dynamics for the planar slider-crank mechanism with multiple clearance joints is depicted by the correlation dimension and bifurcation actions. Considering the obliqueness of the slider, the general configuration of the planar joint is proposed. Generalized coordinates and the Lagrangian approach are adopted to derive the dynamic motion equations. The effects of clearance size and driving speed on the bifurcations of the dynamic response are investigated. Furthermore, the fractal dimension of the strange attractor is identified by the correlation dimension from time series. Based on the Cao method, the Mutual Information (MI) function, and the Grassberger-Procaccia (G-P) algorithm, the controlled factors in the evaluation of correlation dimension are cautiously determined. Ultimately, the compound effect of translational and revolute clearance joints on the mechanism dynamics is featured. The numerical results testify that the correlation dimension of the slider displacement approximately saturates beyond a specific translational clearance value. Moreover, with the parameters used in this work, the complexity of system response seems to be more sensitive to the variation of translational clearance size than with the revolute joint.