Mechanical Systems with Partial Damping: Two Examples

Abstract

We discuss the problem of constructing steady state motions of mechanical systems with partial damping. A planar three bar linkage with viscous damping at one of the joints is considered as an example. We show that for a generic set of system parameters all steady state motions are confined to relative equilibria. We also consider the example of two rigid bodies with one-board rotors coupled via a ball-in-socket joint with viscous friction and show that in the steady state, the system is at a relative equilibrium.