Lecture Objectives

At the end of this lecture, students will be able to:

• Identify and locate instantaneous centers for a four bar
chain
• Solve problems of velocity analysis of four bar chain using
instantaneous centers

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 Topics

• Locating instantaneous centers for a four bar chain

• Velocity analysis of four bar chain

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 Instant Center of a Four bar Mechanism

• Assume that for this four-bar mechanism all the link

lengths are known and the angular velocity of the crank is
given as ω2 CCW
• In the configuration shown we can perform a velocity
analysis with the instant center method
A B

ω2
O2

O4
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 Instant Center of a Four bar Mechanism
Number of instant centers Continued…
• To determine how many instant centers
exist for a four-bar
• The number of links in a four-bar is
n=4
• Between n links, there are A B

n (n − 1) ∕ 2
• That means in a fourbar there are
4 (4 − 1) ∕ 2 = 6 instant centers ω2
• A small circle will help us keep track of O2
locating each center
• On the circumference of the circle we put
as many marks as the number of links O4 1 2

• Each time we find a center between two ►

links, we draw a line between the
4 3
corresponding marks on the circle.

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 Instant Center of a Four bar Mechanism
Continued…
Finding the instant centers
• They are the four pin joints ►
• We don’t know I1,3 but we know
that it lies on the same line as I4,1
and I3,4 ► A = I2,3 B = I3,4
I2,4
• I1,3 also lies on the same line as I2,1
and I3,2 ►
► ω2
• The point of intersection is I1,3
O2 = I1,2
• I2,4 is also unknown but it lies on the
►
same line as I3,4 and I2,3
• I2,4 also lies on the same line as I4,1 O4 = I4,1 1 2
►
and I1,2
► 4 3
The point of intersection is I2,4
I1,3
Now we have found all 6 centers
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 Instant Center of a Four bar Mechanism
Finding velocities Continued…

• A (or I2,3) is a point on link 2,

therefore ω3
VA A = I2,3 B = I3,4
VA = ω2 ∙ RAI1,2 I2,4

• Its direction is obtained by RAI1,2

rotating RAI1,2 90° in the ω2
►
direction of ω2 O2 = I1,2

• A (or I2,3) is also a point on link

3, which rotates around I1,3, this RAI1,3 O4= I4,1
means
VA = ω3 ∙ RAI1,3
• Since we already know VA, we I1,3

can solve for ω3 ►

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ω = VA ∕ RAI
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 Instant Center of a Four bar Mechanism
• We could have determined ω4 Continued…

without knowing ω3
• I2,4 is a point on link 2, therefore B = I3,4
I2,4 A = I2,3
VI2,4 = ω2 ∙ RI2,4 I1,2
VI2,4
• Its direction is obtained by
RI2,4 I1,2 ω2
rotating RI2,4 I1,2 90° in the
► O2 = I1,2 ω4
direction of ω2
RI2,4 I4,1
• I2,4 is also a point on link 4, which
O4= I4,1
rotates around I4,1. This means
VI2,4 = ω4 ∙ RI2,4 I4,1
• We already know VI2,4 so we can I1,3
solve for ω4 ►

ω4 = VI2,4 ∕ RI2,4 I4,1 7

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 Instant Center of a Four bar Mechanism Continued…
Velocity of a coupler point
VP
• The instant center method P
makes it easy to find the
A = I2,3 B = I3,4
velocities of additional points I2,4

• For example suppose link 3 is RPI4,1

a triangular plate and we ω2
want to determine the
O2 = I1,2
velocity of P. Since P is a point
on link 3,
We have O4= I4,1

VP = ω3 ∙ RPI1,3
The direction is found by
rotating RPI1,3 90° in the direction I1,3

of ω3 ►
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 Lecture Summary
 A four bar chain has SIX instantaneous centers

 Circle diagram and table of instantaneous centers help in

locating instantaneous centers
 Knowing the velocity of crank, velocities of all other links
can be determined with the help of instantaneous centers

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