A divide and conquer algorithm for constrained multibody system dynamics based on augmented Lagrangian method with projections-based error correction

This paper presents a?new parallel algorithm for dynamics simulation of general multibody systems. The developed formulations are iterative and possess divide and conquer structure. The constraints equations are imposed at the acceleration level. Augmented Lagrangian methods with mass-orthogonal projections are used to prevent from constraint violation errors. The proposed approaches treat tree topology mechanisms or multibody systems which contain kinematic closed loops in a?uniform manner and can handle problems with rank deficient Jacobian matrices. Test case results indicate good accuracy performance dependent on the expense put in the iterative correction of constraint equations. Good numerical properties and robustness of the algorithms are observed when handling systems with single and coupled kinematic loops, redundant constraints, which may repeatedly enter singular configurations.     

A METHOD FOR SOLVING THE DYNAMICS OF MULTIBODY SYSTEMS WITH RHEONOMIC AND NONHOLONOMIC CONSTRAINTS

ＡＭＥＴＨＯＤＦＯＲＳＯＬＶＩＮＧＴＨＥＤＹＮＡＭＩＣＳＯＦＭＵＬＴＩＢＯＤＹＳＹＳＴＥＭＳＷＩＴＨＲＨＥＯＮＯＭＩＣＡＮＤＮＯＮＨＯＬＯＮＯＭＩＣＣＯＮＳＴＲＡＩＮＴＳ￥ＳｈｕｉＸｉａｏｐｉｎｇ（水小平）ＺｈａｎｇＹｏｎｇｆａ（张永发）（Ｄｅｐａｒ...     

An index 0 differential-algebraic equation formulation for multibody dynamics: Nonholonomic constraints

A method is presented for formulating and numerically integrating index 0 differential-algebraic equations of motion for multibody systems with holonomic and nonholonomic constraints. Tangent space coordinates are defined in configuration and velocity spaces as independent generalized coordinates that serve as state variables in the formulation. Orthogonal dependent coordinates and velocities are used to enforce position, velocity, and acceleration constraints to within specified error tolerances. Explicit and implicit numerical integration algorithms are presented and used in solution of three examples: one planar and two spatial. Numerical results verify that accurate results are obtained, satisfying all three forms of kinematic constraint to within error tolerances embedded in the formulation.     

多体系统动力学设计灵敏度分析直接微分法

针对受完整约束的多体系统动力学微分／代数方程数学模型动态最优化设计问题，建立了通用的目标函数和约束方程，并以此为基础，用直接微分方法系统地推导出了计算设计灵敏度的通用公式，最后通过平面机械臂模型对理论结果和相应算法进行了验证．     

On the stability of equilibria of nonholonomic systems with nonlinear constraints

Lyapunov＇s first method, extended by V. V. Kozlov to nonlinear mechani- cal systems, is applied to the study of the instability of the position of equilibrium of a mechanical system moving in the field of conservative and dissipative forces. The mo- tion of the system is limited by ideal nonlinear nonholonomic constraints. Five cases determined by the relationship between the degree of the first nontrivial polynomials in Maclaurin＇s series for the potential energy and the functions that can be generated from the equations of nonlinear nonholonomic constraints are analyzed. In the three eases, the theorem on the instability of the position of equilibrium of nonholonomic systems with linear homogeneous constraints （V. V. Kozlov （1986）） is generalized to the case of nonlin- ear nonhomogeneous constraints. In the other two cases, new theorems are set extending the result from V. V. Kozlov （1994） to nonholonomic systems with nonlinear constraints.     

Relationship between multibody dynamics computation and nonlinear vibration theory

This paper presents the ground-work of implementing the multibody dynamics codes to analyzing nonlinear coupled oscillators. The recent developments of the multibody dynamics have resulted in several computer codes that can handle large systems of differential and algebraic equations (DAE). However, these codes cannot be used in their current format without appropriate modifications. According to multibody dynamics theory, the differential equations of motion are linear in the acceleration, and the constraints are appended into the equations of motion through Lagrange's multipliers. This formulation should be able to predict the nonlinear phenomena established by the nonlinear vibration theory. This can be achieved only if the constraint algebraic equations are modified to include all the system kinematic nonlinearities. This modification is accomplished by considering secondary nonlinear displacements which are ignored in all current codes. The resulting set of DAE are solved by the Gear stiff integrator. The study also introduced the concept of constrained flexibility and uses an instantaneous energy checking function to improve integration accuracy in the numerical scheme. The general energy balance is a single scalar equation containing all the energy component contributions. The DAE solution is then compared with the solution predicted by the nonlinear vibration theory. It also establishes new foundation for the use of multibody dynamics codes in nonlinear vibration problems. It is found that the simulation CPU time is much longer than the simulation of the original equations of the system.     

Forward and inverse dynamics of nonholonomic mechanical systems

This paper deals with the forward and the inverse dynamic problems of mechanical systems subjected to nonholonomic constraints. The intrinsically dual nature of these two problems is identified and utilised to develop a systematic approach to formulate and solve them according to an unified framework. The proposed methodology is based on the fundamental equations of constrained motion which derive from Gauss’s principle of least constraint. The main advantage arising from using the fundamental equations of constrained motion is that they represent an effective method capable to derive the generalised acceleration of a mechanical system, constrained in general by a set of nonholonomic constraints, together with the generalized constraint forces (forward dynamics). When the constraint equations are used to represent the desired behaviour of the mechanical system under study, the generalised constraint forces deriving from the fundamental equations of constrained motion provide the control actions which reproduce the specified motion for the system (inverse dynamics). This approach is systematically extended to underactuated mechanical systems introducing a new method named underactuation equivalence principle. The underactuation equivalence principle is founded on the key idea that the underactuation property of a mechanical system can be mathematically represented using a particular set of nonholonomic constraint equations. Two simple case-studies are reported to exemplify the proposed methodology. In the first case-study the computation of the generalised constraint forces relative to the revolute joint constraints of a physical pendulum is illustrated. In the second case-study the calculation of the control action which solves the swing-up problem for an inverted pendulum is described.     

CONSTRAINT VIOLATION STABILIZATION OF EULER-LAGRANGE EQUATIONS WITH NON-HOLONOMIC CONSTRAINTS

Two constraint violation stabilization methods are presented to solve the Euler Lagrange equations of motion of a multibody system with nonholonomic constraints. Compared to the previous works, the newly devised methods can deal with more complicated problems such as those with nonholonomic constraints or redundant constraints, and save the computation time. Finally a numerical simulation of a multibody system is conducted by using the methods given in this paper.     

A velocity transformation method for the nonlinear dynamic simulation of railroad vehicle systems

The solution of the constrained multibody system equations of motion using the generalized coordinate partitioning method requires the identification of the dependent and independent coordinates. Using this approach, only the independent accelerations are integrated forward in time in order to determine the independent coordinates and velocities. Dependent coordinates are determined by solving the nonlinear constraint equations at the position level. If the constraint equations are highly nonlinear, numerical difficulties can be encountered or more Newton–Raphson iterations may be required in order to achieve convergence for the dependent variables. In this paper, a velocity transformation method is proposed for railroad vehicle systems in order to deal with the nonlinearity of the constraint equations when the vehicles negotiate curved tracks. In this formulation, two different sets of coordinates are simultaneously used. The first set is the absolute Cartesian coordinates which are widely used in general multibody system computer formulations. These coordinates lead to a simple form of the equations of motion which has a sparse matrix structure. The second set is the trajectory coordinates which are widely used in specialized railroad vehicle system formulations. The trajectory coordinates can be used to obtain simple formulations of the specified motion trajectory constraint equations in the case of railroad vehicle systems. While the equations of motion are formulated in terms of the absolute Cartesian coordinates, the trajectory accelerations are the ones which are integrated forward in time. The problems associated with the higher degree of differentiability required when the trajectory coordinates are used are discussed. Numerical examples are presented in order to examine the performance of the hybrid coordinate formulation proposed in this paper in the analysis of multibody railroad vehicle systems.     

Numerical method for dynamics of multi-body systems with two-dimensional Coulomb dry friction and nonholonomic constraints

Based on the dynamical theory of multi-body systems with nonholonomic constraints and an algorithm for complementarity problems, a numerical method for the multi-body systems with two-dimensional Coulomb dry friction and nonholonomic constraints is presented. In particular, a wheeled multi-body system is considered. Here,the state transition of stick-slip between wheel and ground is transformed into a nonlinear complementarity problem(NCP). An iterative algorithm for solving the NCP is then presented using an event-driven method. Dynamical equations of the multi-body system with holonomic and nonholonomic constraints are given using Routh equations and a constraint stabilization method. Finally, an example is used to test the proposed numerical method. The results show some dynamical behaviors of the wheeled multi-body system and its constraint stabilization effects.     

INTEGRATION METHOD FOR THE DYNAMICS EQUATION OF RELATIVE MOTION OF VARIABLE MASS NONLINEAR NONHOLONOMIC SYSTEM

1.IntroductionMoreandmoreattentionhasbeenpaidtothestudyofdynamicsofcomplicatedsystemwiththedevelopmentofmodernscienceandtechnology.Thestudyoftherelativemotionofvariablemasssystembyusingthetheoryandmethodofanalyticalmechanicsnotonlycanunifytheexpressionformbutalsocandisplayitssuperioritytothecomplicatedsystem.In1961,thedynamicsofrelativemotionofholonomicsystemwasderivedbyLur'ell].Inrecehtyears,LiulZIandLuol3'4]havegiventhedynamicsequationsofrelativemotionofvariablemassnonholonomicsystem.Howe…     

Computer Implementation of the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation for Flexible Multibody Dynamics

Deformable components in multibody systems are subject to kinematic constraints that represent mechanical joints and specified motion trajectories. These constraints can, in general, be described using a set of nonlinear algebraic equations that depend on the system generalized coordinates and time. When the kinematic constraints are augmented to the differential equations of motion of the system, it is desirable to have a formulation that leads to a minimum number of non-zero coefficients for the unknown accelerations and constraint forces in order to be able to exploit efficient sparse matrix algorithms. This paper describes procedures for the computer implementation of the absolute nodal coordinate formulation' for flexible multibody applications. In the absolute nodal coordinate formulation, no infinitesimal or finite rotations are used as nodal coordinates. The configuration of the finite element is defined using global displacement coordinates and slopes. By using this mixed set of coordinates, beam and plate elements can be treated as isoparametric elements. As a consequence, the dynamic formulation of these widely used elements using the absolute nodal coordinate formulation leads to a constant mass matrix. It is the objective of this study to develop computational procedures that exploit this feature. In one of these procedures, an optimum sparse matrix structure is obtained for the deformable bodies using the QR decomposition. Using the fact that the element mass matrix is constant, a QR decomposition of a modified constant connectivity Jacobian matrix is obtained for the deformable body. A constant velocity transformation is used to obtain an identity generalized inertia matrix associated with the second derivatives of the generalized coordinates, thereby minimizing the number of non-zero entries of the coefficient matrix that appears in the augmented Lagrangian formulation of the equations of motion of the flexible multibody systems. An alternate computational procedure based on Cholesky decomposition is also presented in this paper. This alternate procedure, which has the same computational advantages as the one based on the QR decomposition, leads to a square velocity transformation matrix. The computational procedures proposed in this investigation can be used for the treatment of large deformation problems in flexible multibody systems. They have also the advantages of the algorithms based on the floating frame of reference formulations since they allow for easy addition of general nonlinear constraint and force functions.     

Complete identification of chaos of nonlinear nonholonomic systems

The chaos of nonholonomic systems with two external nonlinear nonholonomic constraints where the magnitude of velocity is a constant and the magnitude of the velocity is a constant with a periodic disturbance, respectively, is completely identified for the first time. The scope of the chaos study is extended to nonlinear nonholonomic systems. By applying the nonlinear nonholonomic form of Lagrange’s equations, the dynamic equation is expressed. The existence of chaos in these two nonlinear nonholonomic systems is first wholly proved by all numerical criteria of chaos, i.e., the most reliable Lyapunov exponents, phase portraits, Poincaré maps, and bifurcation diagrams. Furthermore, it is found that the Feigenbaum number still holds for nonlinear nonholonomic systems.     

Regularization and stability of the constraints in the dynamics of multibody systems

In the analysis of multibody dynamics, we are often required to deal with singularity problems where the constraint Jacobian matrix may become less than full rank at some instantancous configurations. This creates numerical instability which will affect the performance of the mechanical system. A modification procedure of the constraints when they vanish or become linearly dependent is proposed to regularize the dynamics of the system. A distinction between the asymptotic stability due to the representation of the constraints (at the velocity and acceleration level), and the one due to the singularity is discussed in full in this paper. It is shown that Baumgarte technique could be extended to accommodate the representation of the constraints in the neighborhood of singularity. A two link planar manipulator undergoing large motion and passing through a singular configuration is used to illustrate the proposed stability technique.     

Control structure interaction in the nonlinear analysis of flexible mechanical systems

The effect of the control structure interaction on the feedforward control law as well as the dynamics of flexible mechanical systems is examined in this investigation. An inverse dynamics procedure is developed for the analysis of the dynamic motion of interconnected rigid and flexible bodies. This method is used to examine the effect of the elastic deformation on the driving forces in flexible mechanical systems. The driving forces are expressed in terms of the specified motion trajectories and the deformations of the elastic members. The system equations of motion are formulated using Lagrange's equation. A finite element discretization of the flexible bodies is used to define the deformation degrees of freedom. The algebraic constraint equations that describe the motion trajectories and joint constraints between adjacent bodies are adjoined to the system differential equations of motion using the vector of Lagrange multipliers. A unique displacement field is then identified by imposing an appropriate set of reference conditions. The effect of the nonlinear centrifugal and Coriolis forces that depend on the body displacements and velocities are taken into consideration. A direct numerical integration method coupled with a Newton-Raphson algorithm is used to solve the resulting nonlinear differential and algebraic equations of motion. The formulation obtained for the flexible mechanical system is compared with the rigid body dynamic formulation. The effect of the sampling time, number of vibration modes, the viscous damping, and the selection of the constrained modes are examined. The results presented in this numerical study demonstrate that the use of the driving forees obtained using the rigid body analysis can lead to a significant error when these forces are used as the feedforward control law for the flexible mechanical system. The analysis presented in this investigation differs significantly from previously published work in many ways. It includes the effect of the structural flexibility on the centrifugal and Coriolis forces, it accounts for all inertia nonlinearities resulting from the coupling between the rigid body and elastic displacements, it uses a precise definition of the equipollent systems of forces in flexible body dynamics, it demonstrates the use of general purpose multibody computer codes in the feedforward control of flexible mechanical systems, and it demonstrates numerically the effect of the selected set of constrained modes on the feedforward control law.     

Energy integrals for mechanical systems with nonlinear nonholonomic constraints

The work analyzes energy relations for nonholonomic systems, whose motion is restricted by nonlinear nonholonomic constraints. For the mechanical systems with linear constraints, the analysis of energy relations was carried out in [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6] …. On the basis of corresponding Lagrange’s equations, a general law of the change in energy dε/dt is formulated for mentioned systems by the help of which it is shown that there are two types of the laws of conservation of energy, depending on the structure of elementary work of the forces of constraint reactions. Also, the condition for existing the second type of the law of conservation of energy is formulated in the form of the system of partial differential equations. The obtained results are illustrated by a model of nonholonomic mechanical system.     

带约束非线性多体系统动力学方程数值分析方法

Lagrange方法是建立带约束多体系统动力学方程的普遍方法之一 ,其方程的形式为微分 代数方程组 ,数值计算与数值分析是研究多体系统动力学特性的重要方法。本文利用缩并法给出了带约束多体系统动力学方程的隐式数值计算方法和Lyapunov指数的计算方法。将数值仿真、Lya punov指数计算和Poincare映射有机结合 ,分析非线性多体系统动力学行为。通过一个算例 ,说明该方法的有效性     

Estimating the Largest Lyapunov Exponent in a Multibody System with Dry Friction by using Chaos Synchronization

Using the properties of chaos synchronization, the method for estimating the largest Lyapunov exponent in a multibody system with dry friction is presented in this paper. The Lagrange equations with multipliers of the systems are given in matrix form, which is adequate for numerical calculation. The approach for calculating the generalized velocity and acceleration of the slider is given to determine slipping or sticking of the slider in the systems. For slip–slip and stick–slip multibody systems, their largest Lyapunov exponents are calculated to characterize their dynamics.The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10272008 and 10371030) The English text was polished by Yunming Chen     

Integrated mechanical and control design of underactuated multibody systems

Multibody systems are called underactuated if they have less control inputs than degrees of freedom, e.g. due to passive joints or body flexibility. For trajectory tracking of underactuated multibody systems often advanced modern nonlinear control techniques are necessary. The analysis of underactuated multibody systems might show that they possess internal dynamics. Feedback linearization is only possible if the internal dynamics remain bounded, i.e. the system is minimum phase. Also feed-forward control design for minimum phase systems is much easier to realize than for non-minimum phase systems. However, often the initial design of an underactuated multibody system is non-minimum phase. Therefore, in this paper a procedure for integrated mechanical and control design is proposed such that minimum phase underactuated multibody systems are obtained. Thereby an optimization-based design process is used, whereby the geometric dimensions and mass distribution of the multibody systems are altered.     

Dynamics of spatial structure-varying rigid multibody systems

Summary Couplings in machines and mechanisms exhibiting backlash and friction phenomena can be modeled as multibody systems with unilateral constraints and Coulomb friction. The structure of the differential-algebraic equations describing the system depends on the state of the constraints. The contact forces occurring at active constraints are taken into account in the equations of motion as Lagrange multipliers. Additionally, the kinematic conditions of all active constraints are formulated on the acceleration level. Contact and friction laws are sufficient conditions for state transitions of active constraints, and are represented by nonsmooth characteristics. Several formulations, like the linear complementarity problem, and two different nonlinear systems of equations are presented together with their solution method. The theory is applied to a mechanical system containing three-dimensional and coupled unilateral constraints with friction. Received 14 May 1998; accepted for publication 5 January 1999