Analysis of Roller Chain Drive System with Multi-Flexible Body Dynamics Methodology

Finite element method (FEM) was employed to analyze the roller chain drive system which complicated to determine various design factors. The multi-flexible body dynamics (MFBD) method was proposed to model and analysis the roller chain drive system. The roller chain which composed of plates, pins and rollers was meshed with solid elements under the convergence test. The eight tooth sprocket was modeled by rigid body to roll and contact with the roller chain. The dynamic load distribution of the roller chain on the rigid sprocket was compared with the analytical solution. The MFBD simulation results had a good agreement with analytic results which obtained an average error of 12.32%.