Abstract
The phenomena of ‘self-synchronization’ is investigated in Reciprocating Mechanisms, namely — crank slider mechanisms. A typical crank-slider mechanism comprises a rotating crank, a sliding piston and a connecting rod in between them. A series of such mechanisms are installed inside a common vibrating base structure. Each of these mechanisms are independently powered by a DC motor. So, for ‘n’ number of mechanisms, there are also ‘n’ number of motors driving them. The assembly is then set up an SDoF vibrating system. A multi-body simulation model is developed on MSC Adams. The numerical study shows that even with different voltage inputs for each motor, the individual mechanisms ‘self-synchronize’ by attaining a single common driving speed. The synchronization is self-induced due to energy interactions between the non-ideal drives and the common vibrating base. Moreover, the tendency to synchronize is so strong that once synchronized, the mechanisms continue to do so even when one or more motors are switched off. The study demonstrates how synchronization can assist in driving multiple mechanisms simultaneously, possibly with minimal power requirements as well as reduced vibrations.
