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3.4VectorLoopsofaMechanism
Themaindifferencebetweenfreelymovingbodiesandthemovinglinksin
amechanismisthattheyhaveaconstrainedmotionduetothejointsin
betweenthelinks.Thelinksconnectedbyjointsformclosedpolygonsthat
weshallcallaloop.Themotionanalysisofmechanismsisbasedon
expressingtheseloopsmathematically.
Inkinematicanalysisweshallassumethatallthenecessarydimensionsof
eachlinkisgivenandlinklengthdimensions(i.e.thedistancebetweenthe
jointsortheangles)canbedeterminedfromthegivendimensionsusing
thegeometryofthelink.
InSection2.1.2,wehaveseenthatitissufficienttorepresenttheposition
ofeachlink(rigidbody)bydescribingthepositionofanytwopointsonthat
link.Onewayofselectingthesetwopointsonalinkistousethe
permanentlycoincidentpoints.Itisobviousthatinsuchaprocedure,the
originofavectorwillbedefinedbythepreviousvectorandthusthe
numberofparameterstodefinethelinkpositionswillbedecreased.

Letusconsiderafourbarmechanismasshownaboveasasimple
example.InthismechanismA0,isapermanentlycoincidentpointbetween
links1and2,Aisperanentlycoincidentpointbetweenlinks2and3,B
between3and4andB0between1and4.LetusdisconnectjointB.In
suchacasewewillobtaintwoopenkinematicchainsA0AB(links2,3)with
twodegreesoffreedomandA0B0B(links1,4)withonedegreeoffreedom
(Fig.2.7b).Todeterminethepositionsofthelinkswemusthavea
referenceframe.OneobviouschoiceistoselectthefixedpivotsA0,B0as
oneofthecoordinateaxesandselectA0orB0astheorigin.Next,inorder
todefinethepositionoflink2,wemustdefineangle 12,whichisrelated
withthedegreeoffreedomofthejointbetweenlinks1and2.Todetermine
thepositionoflink3,sincethelocationofthepermanentlycoincidentpoint
Abetween2and3canbedeterminedwhen 12defined,wemustnow
define 13,whichisrelatedtothefreedomofthejointbetweenlinks2and
3.Similarly 14mustbedefinedtodeterminethepositionoflink4.Hence
weneed3parameters( 12, 13and 14)whichareallrelatedtothe
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jointfreedomsfortheopenkinematicchainsobtainedwhenwedisconnect
ajointtoeliminatealoop.
Eachlinkcanbedefinedbyavectorfixedonthatlink,letusselectthe
permanentlycoincidentpointsbetweenthelinksasthetipsofthesevectors
anddefinevectorA0A(forlink2),AB(forlink3),B0B(forlink4)andA0B0
(forlink1).ExceptA0B0,theotherthreevectorswillbeafunctionoftime
(sincethedistancesbetweenthetwopointsonthesamelinkarefixed,the
magnitudeswillremainconstantbutthedirectionsofthesevectorswill
changeintime).Sincethemechanismcontainsrevolutejointsonly,The
magnitudeofthevectorsareconstantlinklengths(A0A=a2,AB=a3,
A0B0=a1veB0B=a4).Theangularorientationofthesevectorswillbe
rotationvariables( 12, 13ve 14).WhenthejointatBisdisconnected,
B3andB4maynotbecoincident.Fortheopenkinematicchain,the
positionofpointBmaybedefinedintwodifferentformsas:
A0A+AB=A0B3(1,2,3openloop)
A0B0+B0B=A0B4(1,4openloop)
However,ateveryinstanttherevolutejointbetweenlinks3and4must
existandpointBmustremainapermanentlycoincidentpointfordifferent
valuesofthepositionvariablesifthesystemweareconsideringisa
mechanism.ThereforethevectorA0B3andA0B4obtainedfromthetwo
equationsusingthetwoopenkinematicchainsmustbeequalandthis
resultswiththevectorequation::
A0A+AB=A0B0+B0B
Thisvectorequationmustbevalidforallpositionsduetothepermanetly
coincidentpoints.Ifthisvectorequationcannottbesatisfiedforagiven
inputangle,thenthatpositioncannotexist(mechanismcannotbe
assembledatthatposition).
Inafourbarmechanismthereisasingleloopformedandthevector
equationdescribestheclosureofthisloopmathematically.Theequation(s)
thatdescribestheclosureoftheloop(s)formedinthemechanismare
knownasloopclosureequation(s).Thevariablesintheloopclosure
equationsarealwaysrelatedbythejointfreedomsandwecansolvefor
twopositionvariablesfromanyloopequation.Inplanethevectorequation
willcorrespondtotwoscalarequations.Inthefourbarexamplethereare
threevariables( 12, 13and 14)whichweshallcall"position
variables".Ifoneofthepositionvariable(say 12),theotherposition
variables( 13and 14)canbesolvedfromthisvectorloopequation.The
numberofindependentparametersthatarerequiredwillalwaysbeequal
tothedegreeoffreedomofthemechanism.Therelationbetweenthe
positionvariablesisanonlinear,trigonometricrelation.
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Onesimpleandconciseformofwritingthevectorloopequationsistouse
complexnumbers.forexample,IfthelengthofthevectorA0Aisa2andif
thevectormakesanangle 12:
A0A=a2cos 12+ia2sin 12
or,usingEuler'sequation:
A0A=a2
Inasimilarfashionifthelinklengthsaredenotedasaiolarak(a1=A0B0,
a2=A0A,etc.)thevectorloopequationincomplexnumberscanbewritten
as:
a2

+a3

=a1+a4

Ifrequired,theequationcanbewrittenincartesiancoordinatesas:

xandycomponentscanbeequatedseparetelytwoyieldtwoscalar
equationsintheform::
a2cos 12+a3cosq 13=a1+a4cos 14
a2sin 12+a3sinq 13=a4sin 14
Incaseofafourbar,thevectorsintheloopclosureequationhavefixed
magnitudes.However,theangularinclinationsofthethreevectors
representingthemovinglinkswillchange.Hence,therearethreeposition
variables( 12, 13and 14).Ifoneofthesevariablesisdefined,the
remainingtwovariablescanbesolvedfromthevectorequation.Ifwerefer
tothedefinitionofthedegreeoffreedomofamechanism,thevariablethat
mustbedefinedistheinputvariableandforaconstrainedmotionthe
numberofinputvariablesmustbeequaltothedegreeoffreedomofthe
jointsinvolved.Incaseofafourbar,sincealltheconnectionsarerevolute
joints,thevariablesareallrotationvariables.Incaseofaprismaticjoint,
thevariablewillbethemagnitudeofavectororavectorcomponent.
ConsideraslidercrankmechanismasshowninFig.A..Letusdisconnect
therevolutejointatB(Fig.B).Inordertodeterminethepositionsoflinks2
and3wemustdefine 12and 13.Tolocatethepositionoflink4its
displacementalongtheslideraxismustbeknownandthepositionvariable
s14mustbedefined.Theresultingloopclosureequationis:

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AoA+AB=AoB
Againthereare3variables( 12, 13ands14)oneofwhichmustbe
specifiedastheinput.InthiscasethevectorsAoAandABhavefixed
magnitudesandvaryingdirections.ThevectorAoBhasafixedy
component(lengthc)andachangingxcomponent(s14).Dependingonthe
applicationseither 12(i.e.inpumps)ors14(i.e.internalcombustion
engines)istheinput.Incomplexnumbersthevectorloopequationwillbe:
a2

+a3

=s14+ic

Thevectorsdefinedandthevariablesusedintheloopclosureequations
arenotunique.Forexample,fortheslidercrankmechanism,ratherthan
disconnectingtherevolutejointatB,onecanaswelldisconnectthe
revolutejointatAbetweenlinks2and3(FigC).Wemustnowdefinethe
angle 13'= xBAinsteadoftheangle 13odeterminethepositionoflink
3.Notethattheangles. 13and 13'differbyaconstantangle(Inthis
caseby180o).Theresultingloopequationis:
AoA=AoB+AB
orincomplexnumbers:
a2

=s14+ic+a3

'

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Example:Theloopclosureequationsofasixlinkmechanism

Referringtothefourbarmechanismabove,onecanwriteavector
equationintheform::
AoA+AB=AoB
ConsideringthevectorAoBthemagnitudeanddirectionofthisvectorare
variables(oritsxandycomponents)andthesevariablesarenotrelated
withthejointfreedoms.wecansolveforthevectorAoBprovidedthatthe
magnitudesandthedirectionsoftheothertwovectorsareknown.Suchan
equationwillnothelpusforthesolutionofpositionvariables.Althoughitis
avalidvectorequation,itisnotaloopclosureequation.Onecanidentify
suchloopsbynotingthevariablesinvolvedarenotrelatedwiththejoint
freedomsandtheseequationsarenotobtainedbydisconnectingthejoints.

Asimilarargumentcanalsobemadeforthevectorequations:
AoA+AC=AoC

ve

AB+BC=AC

Inthelatercase,allthreevectorsareonthesamelinkandtheyhavea
fixedorientationwithrespecttoeachother.Iftheoriginandtheangular
orientationofoneofthevectorsisknown,duetorigiditytheorientationof
theothervectorswillbeknown.

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Incertainothercaseswemayhavetouseinstantaneouslycoincident
pointsorotherpointsonthelinksasthetipsofthevectors,asshownin
Fig.2.14.Thevariableinvolvedinsuchacaseistherelativedisplacement
ofonelinkwithrespecttoanotherlink.ThevectorBoAcanbeseparated
intotwocomponents:BoCandCAsothatonecomponentisofconstant
magnitudeandthemagnitudeoftheothervectorisrelatedtothe
displacementoftheprismaticjointbetweenlinks3and4.Theloopclosure
equationcanthanbewrittenintheform:
AoA=AoBo+BoC+CA
orincomplexnumbers:

PointsA2veA3arepermanentlycoincidentpoints.PointA4is
instantaneouslycoincidentwithpointA3whenthemechanismismoved
fromthispositionthetwopointswillbedisplacedbyadistance salong
theslideraxisrelativetoeachother.PointsA2andA3willbetwoother
differentpointsthatwillbecoincidentwith(A')(Fig.C).

ThevectorCAchangesbothitsmagnitudeanddirection.Howeverits
orientationwithrespecttothevectorB0Cwillbefixed,andnonewvariable
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isneeded.IftheorientationofthevectorB0Ciswhownbythevariable 14
measuredfromthepositivexaxisofourreference,theorientationofthe
vectorCAwithrespecttopositivexaxisis 14+ 4andangle 4isa
constantanglemeasuredonlink4betweentwolinesBoCandCP(pointP
isanypointontheslideraxisonlink4)Thepositionvariablesintheloop
equationwillbe 12, 14ands43.

Notethatthesamevectorloopequationcanbederivedfortheswinging
blockmechanismshownabove.Therefore,theinvertedslidercrank
mechanismisthesameastheswingingblockmechanismalthoughtheir
constructionisdifferent.Althoughitisadifferentconstruction,Ifthelink
dimensions(a2,a4, 4)arethesame,themotionofthetwomechanisms
willbethesame.

Whenwritingthevectorloopequationsonemustbesurethatthe
equationsarevalidforeverypositionofthemechanism.Themechanism
maybeataspecialpositionsuchthatoneormoreofthelinksarecollinear
asshownabove.(Althoughlinks2and1arecollinear,theywillhave
differentorientationsatsomeotherinstant).Insuchacaseyoumayredraw
themechanismslightlyoffsetfromthecriticalpositionorshowthevariable
angle 12,asshown.Insomecasesiftheconstantlinkanglesbetween
twovectorsareofacertainsimplevalue(suchas900),thenitisadvisable
tosimplifiytheequationsaccordingly.Forexampleiftheangle 4ofthe
invertedslidercrankmechanismisarightangle,Theloopclosureequation
mustbewrittenas:
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Thesolutiontotheloopequationsmaynotexistforeveryvalueofthe
independentparameter.Thiswillmeanthatforthatparticularlinklengths
themechanismcannotbeassembledattherequestedposition.

Howwillyoudeterminethenumberofindependentloopsfromthe
numberofjointsandlinks?
Inplanarmechanismswecanwritevectorloopequationsforeachloopof
themechanism.ThiscorrespondstoL(L=numberofindependentloops)
vectorequationsor2Lscalarequations,ifweequatethexandy
componentsofvectors.Thenumberofparametersinvolvedinthese
equationswillbe2L+F,whereFisthedegreeoffreedomofthe
mechanism.IfwenowdefineFnumberofvariables(independentvariables
orinputparameters(variables)),thentheoretically,wemustbeableto
solvefortheothervariables(dependentpositionparameteres).Wecan
changetheinputvariablewithinagivenrangeincertainincrementsand
obtainthevaluesforthedependentvariables.Forexampleiftheinput
variablecorrespondstotheanglethatdefinestheangularpositionofan
inputcrank,wechangethisanglefrom0to360o.Iftheinputisthe
movementofapistoninsideacylinder,thenwechangethislengthofthe
pistonstartingfromtheclosedpositiontothemostextendedposition(the
differenceisthestrokeofthepiston).
Whenwedeterminethevaluesofallthepositionvariablescorresponding
toacertaininputvariable,thenwecandeterminethepositionofanypoint
onanylinkofthemechanism.
Oneneednotdrawthemechanismwithdismantledjointstowrite
theloopequations.Aftersomepracticeonecanconceptually
disconectthejoints,identifytheloopsandthewritethenecessary
loopequations.Initiallyofcourse,asavisualaid,wehaveshownthe
jointsareshowndisconnected.
Inthefollowingexamplesthenecessaryloopequationsforsome
mechanismsarewritten.Theloopequationsandthevariablesdefinedare
notunique.Youaretodeterminethejointthatisdisconnectedwhenwriting
thegivenloopequation.
Inrecentyearsdifferentpackageprogramsareavailablefortheanalysisof
mechanisms.Whenusingtheseprograms,youmustinputtheseloopsby
tellingtheprogramwhichlinkisconnectedtowhichlinkbywhatkindofa
joint(i.e.whatkindoffreedomispermittedbythatjoint).Ifyouareusing
mathematicalpackagessuchasmatlabormathcad,youmusttypethese
equationsinoneformoranother.Aslightmistakeintheloopequations
resultswitherroneousresults.Pleasekeepinmindthattheseequations
definethemathematicalmodelofanexistingmechanism.This
mathematicalmodelcanbesolvedindifferentwaysasweshallseeinthe
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comingsections.

ExampleI.

(A0A=a2,AB=a3,BC=a4)
A0A+AB+BC=A0C
A0A+AD=A0D0+D0D

ExampleII.

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A0A=A0B0+B0B+BA

A0C=A0B0+B0B+BC

ExampleIII.

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B0B+BC+CD=B0A0+A0A+AD

B0B+BC=B0C0+C0C

Duetothegearpair:r3 13=r2( 12

2)(when

13=0

12=

2)

es

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