Experimental and simulation investigation of nonlinear dynamic behavior of a polydyne cam and roller follower mechanism

In this study a polydyne cam and a roller follower with different cam rotational speeds are analyzed. The chaos has been investigated based on positive Lyapunov exponent value. The effect of follower guide's clearance on chaos is considered. The contact between cam and follower is simulated by using Solidworks program. The power spectrum of Fast Fourier Transform and phase plane have been examined the follower non-periodicity during follower motion in the y-direction. Rosenstein program is used to calculate largest Lyapunov exponent. The experimental setup has been implemented by using OPTOTRAK/3020 through a 3-D infrared markers to track follower motion. The signal of follower motion in the y-direction has been processed depend upon data acquisition technique. The system with follower guide's clearance C = 2 mm is more chaotic than the others at cam rotational speed N = 800 rpm and N = 1200 rpm. The simulation and experimental results are compared and verified for largest Lyapunov exponent.