ME 7 – Activity 4

I. 1. Present through drawing (hand-drawing or CAD drawing) and Explain a

Velocity and Acceleration Analysis of a Four-Bar Mechanism. (May add additional
sheet)

VELOCITY POLYGON

VB

OV
VBA ω 3 = VBA [CCW]
VA Known: ω2 (CCW) constant
BA
ω4 = V Asked: 𝛼3 and 𝛼44
B
[CCW]
O4B
Acceleration Equation for link 3
II. Answer the following:
1. Define Velocity.

A vector measurement of the rate and direction of motion is defined as

velocity. Simply put, velocity refers to how fast something moves in one direction.
Velocity may be used to calculate the speed of a car heading north on a major
highway and the speed of a rocket launching into space.
The velocity vector's scalar (absolute value) magnitude is, as you might expect,
the speed of motion. Velocity is the first derivative of position with respect to time in
calculus. A simple formula that involves rate, distance, and time can be used to
calculate velocity.

2. Define Acceleration.
Acceleration is a vector quantity that represents the rate at which velocity changes.
It has length and time over time dimensions. Acceleration is sometimes referred to as
"speeding up," but it actually refers to velocity changes. In a car, acceleration can be
felt on a daily basis. When you press the accelerator, the car accelerates, increasing its
speed.

3. Explain the Concepts of Velocity and Acceleration Analysis.

Identifying the velocity of one or more points on a link is important in mechanism
design. Oftentimes a synchronous motion is required between two mechanisms such in
the box packing system where boxes are fed at a certain rate and the packing mechanism
must adapt to that rate. In other cases, like in the reciprocating motion of a slider,
inertial forces upon changes in direction must be minimized otherwise it could be
damaging in the short and long range.

Two common analysis types are usually used to identify the velocity of one or
more points on a mechanism.
1. Relative velocity analysis
2. Instantaneous center method
 Acceleration analysis consists of formulating equations involving the angular
and linear accelerations of each element of a multibody mechanical system. The
solution of acceleration analysis allows us to determine the angular and linear
accelerations of anybody of the system under study.