Variational Integrators for Interconnected Lagrange–Dirac Systems

Interconnected systems are an important class of mathematical models, as they allow for the construction of complex, hierarchical, multiphysics, and multiscale models by the interconnection of simpler subsystems. Lagrange–Dirac mechanical systems provide a broad category of mathematical models that are closed under interconnection, and in this paper, we develop a framework for the interconnection of discrete Lagrange–Dirac mechanical systems, with a view toward constructing geometric structure-preserving discretizations of interconnected systems. This work builds on previous work on the interconnection of continuous Lagrange–Dirac systems (Jacobs and Yoshimura in J Geom Mech 6(1):67–98, 2014) and discrete Dirac variational integrators (Leok and Ohsawa in Found Comput Math 11(5), 529–562, 2011). We test our results by simulating some of the continuous examples given in Jacobs and Yoshimura (2014).     

Computational dynamics of a 3D elastic string pendulum attached to a rigid body and an inertially fixed reel mechanism

A high fidelity model is developed for an elastic string pendulum, one end of which is attached to a rigid body while the other end is attached to an inertially fixed reel mechanism which allows the unstretched length of the string to be dynamically varied. The string is assumed to have distributed mass and elasticity that permits axial deformations. The rigid body is attached to the string at an arbitrary point, and the resulting string pendulum system exhibits nontrivial coupling between the elastic wave propagation in the string and the rigid body dynamics. Variational methods are used to develop coupled ordinary and partial differential equations of motion. Computational methods, referred to as Lie group variational integrators, are then developed, based on a finite element approximation and the use of variational methods in a discrete-time setting to obtain discrete-time equations of motion. This approach preserves the geometry of the configurations, and leads to accurate and efficient algorithms that have guaranteed accuracy properties that make them suitable for many dynamic simulations, especially over long simulation times. Numerical results are presented for typical examples involving a constant length string, string deployment, and string retrieval. These demonstrate the complicated dynamics that arise in a string pendulum from the interaction of the rigid body motion, elastic wave dynamics in the string, and the disturbances introduced by the reeling mechanism. Such interactions are dynamically important in many engineering problems, but tend be obscured in lower fidelity models.     

Variational and Geometric Structures of Discrete Dirac Mechanics

In this paper, we develop the theoretical foundations of discrete Dirac mechanics, that is, discrete mechanics of degenerate Lagrangian/Hamiltonian systems with constraints. We first construct discrete analogues of Tulczyjew’s triple and induced Dirac structures by considering the geometry of symplectic maps and their associated generating functions. We demonstrate that this framework provides a means of deriving discrete Lagrange–Dirac and nonholonomic Hamiltonian systems. In particular, this yields nonholonomic Lagrangian and Hamiltonian integrators. We also introduce discrete Lagrange–d’Alembert–Pontryagin and Hamilton–d’Alembert variational principles, which provide an alternative derivation of the same set of integration algorithms. The paper provides a unified treatment of discrete Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics in the more general setting of discrete Dirac mechanics, as well as a generalization of symplectic and Poisson integrators to the broader category of Dirac integrators.     

Dynamics of Nonlinear Cyclic Systems with Structural Irregularity

The dynamics of weakly coupled, nonlinear cyclic assemblies are investigated in the presence of weak structural mistuning. The method of multiple scales is used to obtain a set of nonlinear algebraic equations which govern the steady-state, synchronous (modal-like) motions for the structures. Considering a degenerate assembly of uncoupled oscillators, spatially localized modes are computed corresponding to motions during which vibrational energy is spatially confined to one oscillator (strong localization) or a subset of oscillators (weak localization). In the limit of weak substructural coupling, asymptotic solutions are obtained which correspond to (i) spatially extended, (ii) strongly localized, and (iii) weakly localized modes for fully coupled systems. Throughout the analysis, the influence of structural mistunings on the resulting solutions are discussed. Additionally, numerical solutions (including linearized stability characteristics) are obtained for prototypical two- and three-degree-of-freedom (DoF) systems with various structural mistunings. The numerical results provide insight into the strong influence of structural irregularities on the dynamical behavior of nonlinear cyclic systems, and demonstrate that the combined influences of structural mistunings and nonlinearities do not lead to uniform improvement of motion confinement characteristics.