Abstract
A variational theorem is presented that may be employed for systematically establishing the equations governing the dynamic response of flexible planar linkage mechanisms simultaneously subjected to both mechanical and hygrothermal loadings. This theoretical development is motivated by recent research advocating that high-speed mechanisms should be fabricated in polymeric fibrous composite materials in order to achieve high-performance characteristics. The constitutive behavior of some of these materials is, however, dependent upon the ambient environmental conditions, and hence mathematical models must be developed in order to predict the response of mechanism systems fabricated with these materials.