A theoretical formula for calculating damping in the impact of two bodies in a multibody system

Abstract

Clearance often exists in the connections of machine parts and causes impact between the parts during machine operation. A spring damper element is usually applied to predict the impact loads acting on the parts. In this paper the impact process is modelled as a two-degrees-of-freedom vibrational system. Based on the assumption that the loss of kinetic energy of the two parts during impact should be absorbed by the damper in the spring damper element that is applied to describe the impact process, a theoretical formula for estimating damping by impact between two parts is derived for the first time. An example is given to show the application of the formula in dynamic simulation using a multibody simulation (MBS) program.