On the Modeling of Flexible-Link Planar Mechanisms: Experimental Validation of an Accurate Dynamic Model

The experimental validation of an accurate dynamic model of flexible multi-body planar mechanisms is presented in this paper. The proposed mathematical model, which is valid for whatever planar mechanism with any number of flexible links, accounts for the geometric and inertial non-linearities of the mechanism, and considers coupling effects among rigid-body and elastic motion as well. In order to experimentally validate the dynamic model, a flexible five-bar planar linkage actuated by two electric motors is employed as a test case. The experimentally measured deformations and accelerations of the flexible links are compared with the numerical results obtained by simulating the system dynamic behavior through the mathematical model. It turns out that the experimental results are in good agreement with the numerical ones, thus proving that the dynamical model proposed is very effective in the difficult task of accurately representing the dynamic behavior of flexible mechanisms.