Unilateral problems of dynamics

Summary Contact processes may be described by local discretizations, by rigid representation or by mixed methods incorporating both ideas. A rigid body approach is proposed for the dynamics of mechanical systems, achieving good results also for multiple-contact problems. Contacts in multibody systems are mainly considered, with the corresponding contact constraints varying with time, thus generating structure-variant systems. The equations of motion for dynamical systems with such unilateral behavior are discussed, solution methods and applications are presented. Received 3 March 1999; accepted for publication 5 May 1999     

Analytical approach in torsional multi-mass discrete-continuous systems with variable inertia

In the paper the systems torsionally deformed consisting of an arbitrary number of elastic elements connected by rigid bodies using the perturbation approach are investigated. The first rigid body represents a motor working with a constant speed, and the last one has a mass moment of inertia depending on the angular displacement. The problem is nonlinear and it is linearized after appropriate transformations. Exemplary numerical results for angular displacements for a two-mass and a three-mass systems are presented.     

A geometric solution to the general single contact frictionless problem by combining concepts of analytical dynamics and b-calculus

This study presents a systematic approach, leading to a new set of equations of motion for a class of mechanical systems subject to a single frictionless contact constraint. To achieve this goal, some fundamental concepts of b-geometry are utilized and adapted to the general framework of Analytical Dynamics. These concepts refer to the theory of manifolds with boundary and provide a suitable and strong theoretical foundation. First, the boundary is defined within the original configuration manifold of the system by the equality in the unilateral constraint. Then, an appropriate vector bundle is considered, involving only smooth vector fields, even at the boundary. After determining the essential geometric properties (i.e., the metric and the connection) near the boundary, Newton’s law of motion is applied. In this way, the equations of motion during the contact phase are derived as a system of ordinary differential equations. These equations possess a special form inside a thin boundary layer. In particular, the essential dynamics of the systems examined is found to be governed by a single second order ordinary differential equation, which is investigated fully. Moreover, a critical comparison of the present formulation with the classical formulations applied to systems with a frictionless contact is performed. Finally, the effect of the dominant parameters on the dynamics during the contact phase and the steps for the application process to mechanical systems are illustrated by two selected examples, referring to contact of a particle and a rigid body with a plane.     

Modeling intermittent contact for flexible multibody systems

This paper consists of two parts. The first part presents a complementarity based recursive scheme to model intermittent contact for flexible multibody systems. A recursive divide-and-conquer framework is used to explicitly impose the bilateral constraints in the entire system. The presented approach is an extension of the hybrid scheme for rigid multibody systems to allow for small deformations in form of local mode shapes. The normal contact and frictional complementarity conditions are formulated at position and velocity level, respectively, for each body in the system. The recursive scheme preserves the essential characteristics of the contact model and formulates a minimal size linear complementarity problem at logarithmic cost for parallel implementation. For a certain class of contact problems in flexible multibody systems, the complementarity based time-stepping scheme requires prohibitively small time-steps to retain accuracy. Modeling intermittent contact for this class of contact problems motivated the development of an iterative scheme. The second part of the paper describes this iterative scheme to model unilateral constraints for a multibody system with relatively fewer contacts. The iterative scheme does not require a traditional complementarity formulation and allows the use of any higher order integration methods. A comparison is then made between the traditional complementarity formulation and the presented iterative scheme via numerical examples.     

On contact interaction between a moving massive body and a linear elastic half space

We study a class of problems involving the motion of a linear elastic body in frictional contact with a linear elastic half space. The dynamic effects considered are the inertial properties of the body regarded as rigid. We study only those regimes of contact interaction for which the slip velocity with the body taken as absolutely rigid and the time rate of change of the elastic displacements of points of the body and the half space that are on the contact surface are of the same order of magnitude. This work generalizes previous work on similar problems in that we simultaneously consider inertia forces of the body and the convective term in the slip-velocity due to the rigid-body velocity of the slider/indentor. Thus regimes of contact interaction investigated include rolling/sliding and shift-torsion type. We propose a variational formulation of the following two problems: (a) finite contact area and shift-torsion type of contact kinematics, (b) local contact area and general kinematics at the contact surface. Results for an elastic cylinder contacting an elastic half-plane are also given.     

Variational methods of solving dynamic problems for fluid-containing bodies

A variational approach to solving linear and nonlinear problems for a body with cavities partially filled with a perfect incompressible fluid is enunciated. The approach applies a nonclassical variational principle to describe the spatial motion of a finite fluid with a free surface and the classical variational principle, which is widely used in rigid body dynamics. These principles are used to formulate variational problems that are the basis of direct methods of solving nonlinear and linear dynamic problems for body-fluid systems. The approach allows us to derive an infinite system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations describing the joint motion of the rigid body and fluid and to develop an algorithm for determining the hydrodynamic coefficients. Linearized differential equations of motion of the mechanical system are presented and approximate methods are given to solve linear boundary-value problems and to determine the hydrodynamic coefficients.Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 40, No. 10, pp. 37–77, October 2004.The study was partially sponsored by the German Research Fund (der Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), Grant 436 UKR113/33/0-3.     

An implicit method for frictional contact, impact and rolling

In this paper an implicit method for frictional contact, impact and rolling is suggested. A nonclassical formulation of a two-dimensional hyperelastic body unilaterally constrained to rigid supports is proposed by following the ideas of Moreau and Jean. A total Lagrangian formulation of the system is given. The elastic properties are defined by coupling the second Piola–Kirchhoff stress to the Green–Lagrange strain via the Kirchhoff–St. Venant law. The equation of motion is written in the spirit of Moreau by using the mean value impulses introduced by Jean. The mean value impulses appear explicitly in the equation of motion. In such manner the treatment of nonconstant kinematic transformation matrices becomes straightforward. The rigid supports are described by smooth functions. By utilizing these functions and the mean value impulses, new contact/impact laws of Signorini and Coulomb type are formulated. The governing equations are solved by a nonsmooth Newton method. This is performed by following the augmented Lagrangian approach and deriving the consistent stiffness matrix as well as the contact stiffness matrices. Three two-dimensional examples are solved by the method: a contact problem, an impact problem and a rolling contact problem.     

Identification of inertia properties from the results of output-only modal analysis

Accurate knowledge of the rigid body properties of a structure including the mass, the location of mass center and the moments of inertia is important in machine design, vibration analysis, optimization and modeling of mechanical systems. However, estimation of these properties through theoretical methods is difficult when the structure has a complicated shape. In practice, the inertia properties can be estimated using the conventional modal testing methods by extracting the rigid body modes when the structure is tested in free-free boundary condition. However, all the rigid body modes are not always detectable, due to this fact that the structure is not excited at all degrees of freedom. In order to obtain all of the rigid body modes, many activities have been conducted for selecting the type and location of excitation without much success. In operational modal analysis (OMA), the structure can be excited at any arbitrary point and in different directions. In this paper, a new approach is introduced for estimation of the inertia properties from OMA. The data from OMA are adequate to extract all the rigid body modes of structure. A modal method is used for estimating the inertia properties from the rigid body modes extracted from OMA. The suggested approach is applied to a numerical model of a two-dimensional steel beam as well as a numerical model of a 3D frame and the accuracy of results is evaluated. It is shown that OMA can provide enough data to extract the inertia properties. A real beam is also tested in order to evaluate the performance of the method in practice, needless of a complicated procedure as for conventional methods.     

Contact vibration analysis of the functionally graded material coated half-space under a rigid spherical punch

This paper studies the contact vibration problem of an elastic half-space coated with functionally graded materials (FGMs) subject to a rigid spherical punch. A static force superimposing a dynamic time-harmonic force acts on the rigid spherical punch. Firstly, we give the static contact problem of FGMs by a least-square fitting approach. Next, the dynamic contact pressure is solved by employing the perturbation method. Lastly, the dynamic contact stiffness with different dynamic contact displacement conditions is derived for the FGM coated half-space. The effects of the gradient index, coating thickness, internal friction, and punch radius on the dynamic contact stiffness factor are discussed in detail.     

Numerical algorithm for rigid body position estimation using the quaternion approach

This paper deals with rigid body attitude estimation on the basis of the data obtained from an inertial measurement unit mounted on the body. The aim of this work is to present the numerical algorithm, which can be easily applied to the wide class of problems concerning rigid body positioning, arising in aerospace and marine engineering, or in increasingly popular robotic systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. Following the considerations of kinematics of rigid bodies, the relations between accelerations of different points of the body are given. A rotation matrix is formed using the quaternion approach to avoid singularities. We present numerical procedures for determination of the absolute accelerations of the center of mass and of an arbitrary point of the body expressed in the inertial reference frame, as well as its attitude. An application of the algorithm to the example of a heavy symmetrical gyroscope is presented, where input data for the numerical procedure are obtained from the solution of differential equations of motion, instead of using sensor measurements.     

Kinematic Analysis of Robotic Bevel-Gear Trains: An Application of Network Model Approach

The network model approach for rigid and multi-rigid body systems developed recently [1,2] can also be used conveniently in formulating system equations or equations of motion of three-dimensional mechanical systems of interconnected rigid bodies. In this article, this method is further elaborated for establishing only the kinematics of spatial robotic bevel-gear trains. However the dynamic analysis of such systems using the same method is also possible and will be taken up in a future publication.     

多点碰撞动力学的规范求解

物体间的碰撞是工程技术中一个重要研究课题．大多数的研究工作都是集中在多刚体系统碰撞动力学问题的研究．在多刚体系统中，两个刚体之间是用一个铰连接的．但是，还存在另一类型的碰撞系统，在这类碰撞系统中，相碰的物体间没有铰存在．物体可能是自由的，也可能是被其周围环境约束的，但在物体之间没有铰的联系，这种碰撞问题称作为“分离式碰撞问题”，物体间的相互联系和相互作用仅仅在碰撞过程中存在．本文对这类“分离式碰撞问题”进行了研究，并且给出了一组解决这类问题的通用公式．这些公式可以方便地编程和计算，从而实现了多物体间的多点碰撞的动力学求解     

Self-induced jumping of a rigid body of revolution on a smooth horizontal surface

The article is devoted to the study of the motion of a rigid body of revolution on a rigid and perfectly smooth horizontal surface under the influence of the uniform gravitational field. Basic equations are listed and their solutions are given. The unilateral contact between the body and the plane at non-steady motion is investigated and the procedure of calculation of threshold values of the body energy above which the contact is broken is given. In contrast to Shimomura et al. [Dynamics of an axisymmetric body spinning on a horizontal surface. II. Self-induced jumping. Proc. R. Soc. A 461 (2005) 1775-1809], who assumed sliding friction in their analysis, it is found that the self-induced jumping can also occur in the absence of friction at the very beginning of the motion. The free motion after the contact is lost and impact of the body when it again makes contact with the plane is discussed. The motion of a spheroid and a disk which illustrate the results of the general theory are discussed in some detail.     

A set-valued force law for spatial Coulomb–Contensou friction

The aim of this paper is to develop a set-valued contact law for combined spatial Coulomb–Contensou friction, taking into account a normal friction torque (drilling friction) and spin. The set-valued Coulomb–Contensou friction law is derived from a non-smooth velocity pseudo potential. A higher-order Runge–Kutta time-stepping method is presented for the numerical simulation of rigid bodies with Coulomb–Contensou friction. The algebraic inclusion describing the contact problem is solved with an Augmented Lagrangian approach. The theory and numerical methods are applied to the Tippe-Top. The analysis and numerical results on the Tippe-Top illustrate the importance of Coulomb–Contensou friction for the dynamics of systems with friction.     

Modeling and analysis of sliding joints with clearances in flexible multibody systems

The modeling of the sliding joint with clearance between a flexible beam and a rigid hole is investigated in this paper. The flexible beam is discretized using the three-dimensional curved Euler–Bernoulli beam element of the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation, while the motion of the rigid hole is described by the Cartesian coordinates. Moreover, the cross sections of both the flexible beam and the rigid hole are assumed to be circular. The existing joints with clearances are mainly rigid joints with small clearances, and the contact detection algorithm adopted can solve only one pair of potential contact points within one section. In order to model the contact problem in the sliding joint with clearance, a new contact detection method based on the intersection of the rigid hole’s cross section and the flexible beam is proposed, which yields a two-dimensional contact detection problem. Based on the common-normal concept, the ellipse–circle contact detection problem within the hole’s cross section can be solved. The potential contact point on the hole’s cross section will be determined, and the closest point projection on the beam’s neutral axis can be defined further. The proposed contact detection method can deal with the sliding joint with large clearance and the multiple-point contact problem within one section. In addition, the penalty method is adopted to model the frictionless contact between the flexible beam and the rigid hole. Finally, two numerical examples about sliding joints with clearances, one with an initially curved beam under gravity and the other with a straight beam under zero gravity, are presented to demonstrate the influence of the clearance of sliding joint on the dynamic performance of flexible multibody systems.     

A general method for impact dynamic analysis of a planar multi-body system with a rolling ball bearing joint

Impact affects the dynamic characteristics of mechanical multi-body systems and damages those rotating parts, such as the joint rolling element bearings, which are high-precision, defect intolerant components. Based on multi-body dynamic theory, Hertzian contact theory, and a continuous contact model, this study proposed a modelling method that can describe the dynamic behaviour of planar mechanical multi-body systems containing a rolling ball bearing joint under impact. In this method, the rigid bodies and bearing joint were connected according to their joint force constraints; the impact constraint between the multi-body system and the target rigid body was constructed using a continuous contact force model. Based on this method, the reflection relationship between the external impacts of the mechanical multi-body system and the variation law governing the dynamic load on the rolling bearing joint were revealed. Subsequently, an impact multi-body system, which was composed of a sliding–crank mechanism containing a rolling ball bearing joint and the target rigid body with an elastic support, was analysed to explore the dynamic response of such a complex discontinuous dynamic system andthe relevant relationship governing the dynamic load on the rolling bearing joint. In addition, a multi-body dynamic simulation software was used to build a virtual prototype of the impact slider–crank system. Compared with the theoretical model, the prototype had an additional deep groove ball bearing. That is to say, the prototype model took account of the specific geometric structural characteristics and the complex contact relationship of the inner and outer races, rolling balls, and bearing cage. Finally, the effectiveness of the theoretical method proposed in this study was verified by comparative analysis of the results. The results suggested that the external impact of a mechanical multi-body system was prone to induce sudden changes in the equivalent reaction force on its bearing joint and the dynamic load carried on its rolling balls. This study provided an effective method for exploring the distribution characteristics of dynamic loads on rolling ball bearing joints under working impact load conditions. Moreover, it offered support for the parameter optimisation of geometric structure, performance evaluation, and dynamic design of the rolling ball bearings.     

Unilaterality and Dry Friction: A Geometric Formulation for Two-Dimensional Rigid Body Dynamics

The dynamics of a rigid body simply supported on a moving rigid ground in the presence of dry friction is investigated. Rigid body kinematics, in terms of generalized coordinates, and features of contact are discussed. According to the contact laws, a variational formulation is adopted to describe the dynamics and to analyze, in the case of contact, the connection between dynamically possible motions and actual evolution of the system. A geometric method is then proposed which allows the dynamic evolution to be determined without any direct evaluation of the contact forces. Though different situations are possible, depending on the instantaneous values of relative position, velocity and active forces, a unique solution is identified. Examples illustrating applications of the theory are presented.