Pin-slot clearance joints in multibody systems

The pin-slot joint is one of the most commonly used form of kinematic pairs, which with clearance will have a significant effect on the motion and dynamic response of multibody systems. In this study, the multibody system with a pin-slot clearance joint is modeled and the kinematic and dynamic effects are studied. Firstly, the generalized coordinate systems were established and the motion constraint equations of the pin-slot clearance joint were derived. Then, the theories of kinematics and dynamics were used to deduce equations of motion and dynamics. Finally, using slider-crank mechanism as the application example, the simulation study of the multibody system with a pin-slot clearance joint was carried out. The results show that there is an impact phenomenon in the moving process of the end slider, and with the increase of the slot angle, the impact phenomenon is earlier and the impact strength is weaker, however, with the increase of the slot value, the time when the impact phenomenon appearing doesn't change while the impact strength increasing. Furthermore, the maximum displacement of the end slider reduces with the increase of the slot value while the maximum value of driving torque doesn't change and the fluctuation of driving torque increased.