Dynamic analysis of planar rigid multibody systems modeled using natural absolute coordinates

Abstract

This paper deals with the dynamic simulation of rigid multibody systems described with the use of two-dimensional natural absolute coordinates. The computational methodology discussed in this investigation is referred to as planar Natural Absolute Coordinate Formulation (NACF). The kinematic representation used in the planar NACF is based on a vector of generalized coordinates that includes two translational coordinates and four rotational parameters. In particular, the set of natural absolute coordinates is employed for describing the global location and the geometric orientation relative to the general configuration of a planar rigid body. The kinematic description utilized in the planar NACF is based on the separation of variable principle. Therefore, a constant symmetric positive-definite mass matrix and a zero inertia quadratic velocity vector associated with the centrifugal and Coriolis inertia effects enter in the formulation of the equations of motion. However, since a redundant set of rotational parameters is used in the kinematic description of the planar NACF for defining the geometric orientation of a rigid body, the introduction of a set of intrinsic normalization conditions is necessary for the mathematical formulation of the algebraic constraint equations. Thus, the intrinsic constraint equations associated with the natural absolute coordinates must be properly taken into account in addition to the extrinsic constraint equations that model the kinematic pairs which form the mechanical joints. This investigation discusses in details the mathematical derivation and the numerical implementation of the multibody system differential-algebraic equations of motion elaborated in the context of the planar NACF. For this purpose, simple geometric considerations are employed in the paper to develop the algebraic equations associated with the intrinsic and extrinsic constraints, whereas the fundamental principles of classical mechanics are utilized for the formal deduction of the dynamic equations. By using the augmented formulation, the index-three form of the differential-algebraic equations of motion is reduced to the corresponding index-one counterpart in order to be able to apply the Udwadia-Kalaba approach for the analytical calculation of the multibody system generalized acceleration vector. Furthermore, in the numerical implementation of the equations of motion based on the planar NACF, the direct correction method is utilized for stabilizing the algebraic constraint equations at both the position and velocity levels. The direct correction approach represents a new methodology recently developed in the field of multibody system dynamics for treating the algebraic constraint equations leading to physically correct and numerically stable dynamic simulations. A standard numerical integration algorithm is employed for obtaining an approximate solution of the nonlinear dynamic equations derived by using the planar NACF. The numerical implementation of a general-purpose multibody computer program based on the planar NACF is demonstrated in the paper considering four simple benchmark examples of rigid multibody systems.