Influences of Contact Force Models on Analysis of Multibody Systems Involving Joints with Clearance

The features and methods of calculating damping coefficients and dissipation energy in different contact force models are analyzed to study the influences of the existing contact force models for dynamic analysis of multibody systems involving joints with clearance. The dissipation energies of different models are compared based on a single ball collision system. On the basis of this analysis, a slider crank mechanism is used to study influences of different contact force models on efficiency, stability and result of computation for multibody system dynamics. Results show that the increase of dissipation energy in a contact force model accelerates the stability of dynamic results of multibody system, and an appropriately selected contact force model can improve the computation efficiency and stability of the dynamic system. More dominant contact force models for different restitution coefficients are obtained by considering stability, efficiency of computation, and applicability.