Contact-impact formulation for multi-body systems using component mode synthesis

The efficiency and accuracy are two most concerned issues in the modeling and simulation of multi-body systems involving contact and impact. This paper proposed a formulation based on the component mode synthesis method for planar contact problems of flexible multi-body systems. A flexible body is divided into two parts： a contact zone and an un-contact zone. For the un-contact zone, by using the fixed-interface substructure method as reference, a few low-order modal coordinates are used to replace the nodal coordinates of the nodes, and meanwhile, the nodal coordinates of the local impact region are kept unchanged, therefore the total degrees of freedom （DOFs） are greatly cut down and the computational cost of the simulation is significantly reduced. By using additional constraint method, the impact constraint equations and kinematic constraint equations are derived, and the Lagrange equations of the first kind of flexible multi-body system are obtained. The impact of an elastic beam with a fixed half disk is simulated to verify the efficiency and accuracy of this method.     

接触碰撞动力学的多变量选取方法

在柔性多体的接触碰撞动力学问题中,多变量方法基于附加约束的接触模型,将柔性体的变形用不同变量来描述：接触局部区域的变形用有限元节点坐标描述,非接触局部区域的变形用模态坐标描述,兼顾了计算精度和效率. 将该方法推广到三维空间碰撞问题,对两柔性杆纵向碰撞过程进行动力学仿真,数值结果与实验结果吻合良好,验证了该方法的有效性. 针对柔性体各自区域的变量如何选取的问题,研究了节点取法、模态阶数以及材料参数对计算结果精度的影响,寻找到合理的多变量选取方法,保证精度的同时使自由度得到最大程度的缩减.     

Nonlinear formulation for flexible multibody system with large deformation

In this paper, nonlinear modeling for flexible multibody system with large deformation is investigated. Absolute nodal coordinates are employed to describe the displacement, and variational motion equations of a flexible body are derived on the basis of the geometric nonlinear theory, in which both the shear strain and the transverse normal strain are taken into account. By separating the inner and the boundary nodal coordinates, the motion equations of a flexible multibody system are assembled. The advantage of such formulation is that the constraint equations and the forward recursive equations become linear because the absolute nodal coordinates are used. A spatial double pendulum connected to the ground with a spherical joint is simulated to investigate the dynamic performance of flexible beams with large deformation. Finally, the resultant constant total energy validates the present formulation. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10472066, 10372057). The English text was polished by Yunming Chen.     

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.     

Three-Dimensional Large Deformation Analysis of the Multibody Pantograph/Catenary Systems

To accurately model the nonlinear behavior of the pantograph/catenary systems, it is necessary to take into consideration the effect of the large deformation of the catenary and its interaction with the nonlinear pantograph system dynamics. The large deformation of the catenary is modeled in this investigation using the three-dimensional finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation. To model the interaction between the pantograph and the catenary, a sliding joint that allows for the motion of the pan-head on the catenary cable is formulated. To this end, a non-generalized arc-length parameter is introduced in order to be able to accurately predict the location of the point of contact between the pan-head and the catenary. The resulting system of differential and algebraic equations formulated in terms of reference coordinates, finite element absolute nodal coordinates, and non-generalized arc-length and contact surface parameters are solved using computational multibody system algorithms. A detailed three-dimensional multibody railroad vehicle model is developed to demonstrate the use of the formulation presented in this paper. In this model, the interaction between the wheel and the rail is considered. For future research, a method is proposed to deal with the problem of the loss of contact between the pan-head and the catenary cable.     

An Internal Damping Model for the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation

Introducing internal damping in multibody system simulations is important as real-life systems usually exhibit this type of energy dissipation mechanism. When using an inertial coordinate method such as the absolute nodal coordinate formulation, damping forces must be carefully formulated in order not to damp rigid body motion, as both this and deformation are described by the same set of absolute nodal coordinates. This paper presents an internal damping model based on linear viscoelasticity for the absolute nodal coordinate formulation. A practical procedure for estimating the parameters that govern the dissipation of energy is proposed. The absence of energy dissipation under rigid body motion is demonstrated both analytically and numerically. Geometric nonlinearity is accounted for as deformations and deformation rates are evaluated by using the Green–Lagrange strain–displacement relationship. In addition, the resulting damping forces are functions of some constant matrices that can be calculated in advance, thereby avoiding the integration over the element volume each time the damping force vector is evaluated.     

Dynamics of flexible multibody systems with tree topologies

The dynamic equations of flexible multibody systems with tree topological configuration are derived by using the Jourdain's principle. The independent joint coordinates are introduced to describe the large displacements of the bodies, and the modal coordinates are used to describe small deformations of flexible bodies based on the consistent mass finite element method and normal vibration mode analysis. The minimum differential equations are developed, which are compatible with the equations of multi-rigid body systems or structural dynamics. The stiff problem in the numerical integration is thus alleviated effectively. The method used in this paper can be extended to deal with systems with other topological configurations. Finally, the validity and feasibility of the presented mathematical model are demonstrated by a numerical example of a manipulator with two elastic links. The project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Partition method and experimental validation for impact dynamics of flexible multibody system

The impact problem of a flexible multibody system is a non-smooth, high-transient, and strong-nonlinear dynamic process with variable boundary. How to model the contact/impact process accurately and efficiently is one of the main difficulties in many engineering applications. The numerical approaches being used widely in impact analysis are mainly from two fields: multibody system dynamics (MBS) and computational solid mechanics (CSM). Approaches based on MBS provide a more efficient yet less accurate analysis of the contact/impact problems, while approaches based on CSM are well suited for particularly high accuracy needs, yet require very high computational effort. To bridge the gap between accuracy and efficiency in the dynamic simulation of a flexible multibody system with contacts/impacts, a partition method is presented considering that the contact body is divided into two parts, an impact region and a non-impact region. The impact region is modeled using the finite element method to guarantee the local accuracy, while the non-impact region is modeled using the modal reduction approach to raise the global efficiency. A three-dimensional rod-plate impact experiment is designed and performed to validate the numerical results. The principle for how to partition the contact bodies is proposed: the maximum radius of the impact region can be estimated by an analytical method, and the modal truncation orders of the non-impact region can be estimated by the highest frequency of the signal measured. The simulation results using the presented method are in good agreement with the experimental results. It shows that this method is an effective formulation considering both accuracy and efficiency. Moreover, a more complicated multibody impact problem of a crank slider mechanism is investigated to strengthen this conclusion.     

Flexible Multibody Simulation and Choice of Shape Functions

The approach most widely used for the modelling of flexible bodies in multibody systems has been called the floating frame of reference formulation. In this methodology the flexible body motion is subdivided into a reference motion and deformation. The displacement field due to deformation is approximated by the Ritz method as a product of known shape functions and unknown coordinates depending on time only. The shape functions may be obtained using finite-element-models of flexible bodies in multibody systems, resulting in a detailed system representation and a high number of system equations. The number of system equations of such a nodal approach can be reduced considerably using a modal representation of deformation. This modal approach, however, leads to the fundamental problem of selecting the shape functions.The floating frame of reference formulation is reviewed here using a generic flexible body model, from which the various body models used in multibody simulations may be derived by formulation of specific constraint equations. Special attention is given in this investigation to the following subjects: The separation of flexible body motion into a reference motion and deformation requires the definition of a body reference frame, which in turn affects the choice of shape functions. Some alternatives will be outlined together with their advantages and disadvantages. Assuming the body deformation to be small, the system equations can be linearized. This may require considering geometric stiffening terms. The problem of how to compute these terms has been solved in literature on the instability of structures under critical loads. For finite element models the geometric stiffening terms are obtained from the tangential stiffness matrix. The generality of the flexible body model allows the definition of an object oriented data base to describe the system bodies. Such a data base includes a general interface between multibody- and finite-element-codes. By combining eigenfunctions and static deformation modes to represent body deformation one obtains a set of so-called quasi-comparison functions. When selected properly these functions can be shown to improve the representation of stresses significantly.     

An Augmented Formulation for Mechanical Systems with Non-Generalized Coordinates: Application to Rigid Body Contact Problems

In computational multibody algorithms, the kinematic constraintequations that describe mechanical joints and specified motiontrajectories must be satisfied at the position, velocity andacceleration levels. For most commonly used constraint equations, onlyfirst and second partial derivatives of position vectors with respect tothe generalized coordinates are required in order to define theconstraint Jacobian matrix and the first and second derivatives of theconstraints with respect to time. When the kinematic and dynamicequations of the multibody systems are formulated in terms of a mixedset of generalized and non-generalized coordinates, higher partialderivatives with respect to these non-generalized coordinates arerequired, and the neglect of these derivatives can lead to significanterrors. In this paper, the implementation of a contact model in generalmultibody algorithms is presented as an example of mechanical systemswith non-generalized coordinates. The kinematic equations that describethe contact between two surfaces of two bodies in the multibody systemare formulated in terms of the system generalized coordinates and thesurface parameters. Each contact surface is defined using twoindependent parameters that completely define the tangent and normalvectors at an arbitrary point on the body surface. In the contact modeldeveloped in this study, the points of contact are searched for on lineduring the dynamic simulation by solving the nonlinear differential andalgebraic equations of the constrained multibody system. It isdemonstrated in this paper that in the case of a point contact andregular surfaces, there is only one independent generalized contactconstraint force despite the fact that five constraint equations areused to enforce the contact conditions.     

Use of Cholesky Coordinates and the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation in the Computer Simulation of Flexible Multibody Systems

In a previous publication, procedures that can be used with the absolute nodal coordinate formulation to solve the dynamic problems of flexible multibody systems were proposed. One of these procedures is based on the Cholesky decomposition. By utilizing the fact that the absolute nodal coordinate formulation leads to a constant mass matrix, a Cholesky decomposition is used to obtain a constant velocity transformation matrix. This velocity transformation is used to express the absolute nodal coordinates in terms of the generalized Cholesky coordinates. The inertia matrix associated with the Cholesky coordinates is the identity matrix, and therefore, an optimum sparse matrix structure can be obtained for the augmented multibody equations of motion. The implementation of a computer procedure based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation and Cholesky coordinates is discussed in this paper. Numerical examples are presented in order to demonstrate the use of Cholesky coordinates in the simulation of the large deformations in flexible multibody applications.     

RESEARCH ON MODELING AND NUMERICAL METHOD OF FREE STANDING BODY ON PLANAR RIGID MULTIBODY DYNAMICS

采用非光滑多体系统动力学的方法研究浮放物体与基础平台组成的多体系统,建立其非光滑接触的动力学方程与数值算法.浮放物体由主体部分和支撑腿组成,其间通过含黏弹性阻力偶的转动铰连接.支撑腿与基础平台间的接触力简化为接触点的法向接触力和摩擦力,采用扩展的赫兹接触力模型描述接触点的法向接触力,采用库伦干摩擦模型描述其摩擦力.采用笛卡尔坐标系下的位形坐标作为系统的广义坐标.首先,将基础平台运动看作非定常约束,用第一类拉格朗日方程建立系统的动力学方程,并采用鲍姆加藤约束稳定化的方法解决违约问题.随后给出基于事件驱动法和线性互补方法的数值算法.当相对切向速度为零时,构造静滑动摩擦力的正负余量和正、负向加速度的互补关系,从而将接触点黏滞——滑移切换的判断以及静滑动摩擦力的计算转化为线性互补问题进行求解,并采用Lemke算法求解线性互补问题.最后,通过数值仿真选择合适的步长;通过仿真结果说明浮放物体运动中存在的黏滞-滑移切换现象以及基础平台运动、质心位置对浮放物体运动的影响.     

A quaternion-based formulation of Euler–Bernoulli beam without singularity

This paper proposes a singularity-free beam element with Euler–Bernoulli assumption, i.e., the cross section remains rigid and perpendicular to the tangent of the centerline during deformation. Each node of this two-nodal beam element has eight nodal coordinates, including three global positions and one normal strain to describe the rigid translation and flexible deformation of the centerline, respectively, four Euler parameters or quaternion to represent the attitude of cross section. Adopting quaternion instead of Eulerian angles as nodal variables avoids the traditionally encountered singularity problem. The rigid cross section assumption is automatically satisfied. To guarantee the perpendicularity of cross section to the deformed neutral axes, the position and orientation coordinates are coupled interpolated by a special method developed here. The proposed beam element allows arbitrary spatial rigid motion, and large bending, extension, and torsion deformation. The resulting governing equations include normalization constraint equations for each quaternion of the beam nodes, and can be directly solved by the available differential algebraic equation (DAE) solvers. Finally, several numerical examples are presented to verify the large deformation, natural frequencies and dynamic behavior of the proposed beam element.     

考虑弹簧阻尼作动器解析雅可比矩阵的多刚体动力学分析

弹簧-阻尼-作动器(spring-damper-actuator,SDA)是多体系统中常见的力元,在工程领域中有着广泛的应用.采用绝对坐标方法建立的多体系统动力学控制方程通常是复杂的非线性微分-代数方程组.为了保证数值解的精度和稳定性,通常需要采用隐式算法求解动力学方程,而雅可比矩阵的计算在隐式数值求解过程中至关重要.对于含有SDA的多体系统,SDA造成的附加雅可比矩阵是与广义坐标和广义速度相关的高度非线性函数.目前的很多研究工作专注于广义力向量的计算,然而对附加雅克比矩阵的计算则少有关注.针对含SDA的多刚体系统进行动力学分析,首先基于Newmark算法研究其在动力学方程求解中的雅可比矩阵的构成形式;然后推导SDA的广义力向量对应的附加雅可比矩阵,其中包括广义力向量对广义坐标和对广义速度的偏导数矩阵.最后通过两个数值算例研究附加雅可比矩阵对动力学分析收敛性的影响;数值分析表明:当SDA的刚度、阻尼和作动力数值较大时,SDA导致的附加雅可比矩阵对数值解的收敛性有重要影响;当考虑SDA对应的附加雅可比矩阵时,动力学分析可以以较少的迭代步实现收敛,从而减少分析时间.     

NONLINEAR DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF FLEXIBLE MULTIBODY SYSTEM

The nonlinear dynamic equations of a multibody system composed of ?exible beams are derived by using the Lagrange multiplier method. The nonlinear Euler beam theory with inclusion of axial deformation e?ect is employed and its deformation ?eld is …     

具有非线性homologous变形约束的桁架结构形态分析

研究了具有非线性homologous变形约束条件的桁架结构形态分析问题。在已有的线性homologous变形约束桁架形态分析的基础上,将结构的节点分成三类:homologous变形约束节点,形状可变节点和边界点。运用Moore-Penrose广义逆矩阵性质,将基础方程组解的存在条件表示为包含形状可变节点未知坐标的非线性方程组,为采用Newton-Raphson方法求解非线性方程组,对AA (A为任意矩阵,A 为A的Moore-Penrose广义逆矩阵)求偏导数,找到了满足保型要求的形态,给出的桁架算例说明了本文方法的有效性。     

Contact dynamics of elasto-plastic thin beams simulated via absolute nodal coordinate formulation

Under the frame of multibody dynamics, the contact dynamics of elasto-plastic spatial thin beams is numerically studied by using the spatial thin beam elements of absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF). The inter-nal force of the elasto-plastic spatial thin beam element is derived under the assumption that the plastic strain of the beam element depends only on its longitudinal deformation. A new body-fixed local coordinate system is introduced into the spatial thin beam element of ANCF for efficient con-tact detection in the contact dynamics simulation. The linear isotropic hardening constitutive law is used to describe the elasto-plastic deformation of beam material, and the classical return mapping algorithm is adopted to evaluate the plastic strains. A multi-zone contact approach of thin beams previ-ously proposed by the authors is also introduced to detect the multiple contact zones of beams accurately, and the penalty method is used to compute the normal contact force of thin beams in contact. Four numerical examples are given to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the pro-posed elasto-plastic spatial thin beam element of ANCF for flexible multibody system dynamics.