ADAMS MULTIBODY SIMULATION OF JAMMING IN THE RECIRCULATION CHANNEL OF A SINGLE-NUT BALL SCREW

Ball screw jamming is a significant concern as it can have a detrimental impact on the performance and reliability of ball screw systems, potentially leading to a complete loss of mechanical power transmission. However, no studies in the literature have conducted dynamic analyses to investigate the effect of such fault on the performance of this mechanism. This article reports on the findings of a simulation analysis using a detailed multibody dynamic model developed in the MSC ADAMS environment to exploit its capabilities of describing contacts between arbitrary shaped bodies and accounting for the complete dynamics of each subcomponent. The analysis focused on a single-nut not preloaded ball screw with three axisymmetric sphere internal recirculating circuits and compliant constraints. The results of an extensive validation process of the mathematical model against literature data in nominal conditions are firstly presented to enhance the reliability of the results. Then, the outcomes of the simulation campaign are presented, investigating the impact of different numbers of recirculation channel jammings on the overall mechanical efficiency and the internal behavior of the spheres, for different lubrication conditions. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the behavior of ball screw systems under jamming conditions and can lay the foundations for in-depth analyses and the development of a prognostic framework for such devices.