A numerical simulation on dynamic behavior of pushing chain mechanism

The pushing chain mechanism is a novel telescoping mechanism used to push objects from one position to another rapidly. For obtaining a long telescoping distance, this mechanism adopts a helicoids case which can store links as many as possible. In order to analyze the dynamic properties and the pushing stability of the pushing chain, the dynamics models of its extraction from the helicoids case and engagement with the sprocket are established. Meanwhile, the dynamics model of the extended chain during the pushing process is deduced. A numerical simulation of the full dynamics model is performed using MATLAB. The simulation results show that the drive forces influenced by the polygon effect transit from drastic oscillations to smooth fluctuations. The traction force acted on the chain in the helicoids case drops down to zero gradually with time. The links of the extended chain have a transverse vibration around the pushing line and the amplitudes reach a maximum at the middle. However, the pushing velocity rises quickly at the initial stage and begins to stabilize with small fluctuation. The pushing chain mechanism has good pushing stability and high-speed performance.