Simulation of planar flexible multibody systems with clearance and lubricated revolute joints

Modeling of clearance joints plays an important role in the analysis and design of multibody mechanical systems. Based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF), a new computational methodology for modeling and analysis of planar flexible multibody systems with clearance and lubricated revolute joints is presented. A planar absolute nodal coordinate formulation based on the locking-free shear deformable beam element is implemented to discretize the flexible bodies. A continuous contact-impact model is used to evaluate the contact force, in which energy dissipation in the form of hysteresis damping is considered. A force transition model from hydrodynamic lubrication forces to dry contact forces is introduced to ensure continuity in the joint reaction force. A comprehensive study with different lubrication force models has also been carried out. The generalized-α method is used to solve the equations of motion and several efficient methods are incorporated in the proposed model. Finally, the methodology is validated by two numerical examples.     

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.     

A new subregion mesh method for the investigation of the elastic-plastic impact in flexible multibody systems

Impact processes between flexible bodies often lead to local stress concentration and wave propagation of high frequency. Therefore, the modeling of flexible multi-body systems involving impact should consider the local plastic deformation and the strict requirements of the spa-tial discretization. Owing to the nonlinearity of the stiffness matrix, the reduction of the element number is extremely important. For the contact-impact problem, since different regions have different requirements regarding the element size, a new subregion mesh method is proposed to reduce the number of the unnecessary elements. A dynamic model for flexible multibody systems with elastic-plastic contact impact is established based on a floating frame of reference formulation and complete Lagrange incremental nonlin-ear finite-element method to investigate the effect of the elastic-plastic deformation as well as spatial discretization. Experiments on the impact between two bodies are carried out to validate the correctness of the elastic-plastic model. The proposed formulation is applied to a slider-crank system with elastic-plastic impact.     

基于李群局部标架的多柔体系统动力学建模与计算

多柔体系统动力学主要研究由多个具有运动学约束、存在大范围相对运动的柔性部件构成的动力学系统的建模、计算和控制.多柔体系统不仅具有柔体大变形导致的几何非线性,更具有大范围刚体运动引起的几何非线性,其非线性程度远高于计算结构力学所研究的几何非线性问题.本文基于李群局部标架(local frame of Lie group,...     

多体系统碰撞动力学中接触力模型的研究进展

接触碰撞行为作为大自然与多体系统中的常见现象,其接触力模型对于多体系统的碰撞行为机理研究与性能预测至关重要.静态弹塑性接触模型与考虑能量耗散的连续接触力模型是研究接触碰撞行为的两类不同方法,在多体系统碰撞动力学中存在诸多共性与差异.本文分别从上述两类接触模型的发展历程入手,详细介绍了两类模型的区别与联系.首先,根据阻尼项分母中是否含有初始碰撞速度将连续接触力模型分为黏性接触力模型与迟滞接触力模型,讨论了能量指数与Hertz接触刚度之间的关系,阐述了现有连续接触力模型在计算弹塑性材料接触碰撞行为时存在的问题.其次,着重介绍了分段连续的准静态弹塑性接触力模型(可连续从完全弹性转换到完全塑性接触阶段),分析了利用此类弹塑性接触力模型计算碰撞行为的技术特点.同时,以恢复系数为桥梁和借助线性化的弹塑性接触刚度,避免了Hertz刚度对弹塑性接触刚度的计算误差,根据碰撞前后多体系统的能量与动能守恒推导了弹塑性接触模型等效的迟滞阻尼因子.探索了连续接触力模型与准静态弹塑性接触力模型之间的内在联系,数值计算结果定量说明了人为阻尼项代表的能量耗散与弹塑性接触力模型中加卸载路径代表的能量耗散具有等效性.另外...     

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.     

A nonlinear finite-element approach for kineto-static analysis of multibody systems

Methods that treat rigid/flexible multibody systems undergoing large motion as well as deformations are often accompanied with inefficiencies and instabilities in the numerical solution due to the large number of state variables, differences in the magnitudes of the rigid and flexible body coordinates, and the time dependencies of the mass and stiffness matrices. The kineto-static methodology of this paper treats a multibody mechanical system to consist of two collections of bulky (rigid) bodies and relatively flexible ones. A mixed boundary condition nonlinear finite element problem is then formulated at each time step whose known quantities are the displacements of the nodes at the boundary of rigid and flexible bodies and its unknowns are the deformed shape of the entire structure and the loads (forces and moments) at the boundary. Partitioning techniques are used to solve the systems of equations for the unknowns, and the numerical solution of the rigid multibody system governing equations of motion is carried out. The methodology is very much suitable in modelling and predicting the impact responses of multibody system since both nonlinear and large gross motion as well as deformations are encountered. Therefore, it has been adopted for the studies of the dynamic responses of ground vehicle or aircraft occupants in different crash scenarios. The kineto-static methodology is used to determine the large motion of the rigid segments of the occupant such as the limbs and the small deformations of the flexible bodies such as the spinal column. One of the most dangerous modes of injury is the amount of compressive load that the spine experiences. Based on the developed method, a mathematical model of the occupant with a nonlinear finite element model of the lumbar spine is developed for a Hybrid II (Part 572) anthropomorphic test dummy. The lumbar spine model is then incorporated into a gross motion occupant model. The analytical results are correlated with the experimental results from the impact sled test of the dummy/seat/restraint system. With this extended occupant model containing the lumbar spine, the gross motion of occupant segments, including displacements, velocities and accelerations as well as spinal axial loads, bending moments, shear forces, internal forces, nodal forces, and deformation time histories are evaluated. This detailed information helps in assessing the level of spinal injury, determining mechanisms of spinal injury, and designing better occupant safety devices.     

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.     

Nonlinear Dynamics and Stability of a Two D.O.F. Elastic/Elasto-Plastic Model System

The local and global nonlinear dynamics of a two-degree-of-freedom model system is studied. The undeflected model consists of an inverted T formed by three rigid bars, with the tips of the two horizontal bars supported on springs. The springs exhibit an elasto-plastic response, including the Bauschinger effect. The vertical rigid bar is subjected to a conservative (dead) or non-conservative (follower) force having static and periodic components. First, the method of multiple scales is used for the analysis of the local dynamics of the system with elastic springs. The attention is focused at modal interaction phenomena in weak excitation at primary resonance and in hard sub-harmonic excitation. Three different asymptotic expansions are utilised to get a structural response for typical ranges of excitation parameters. Numerical integration of the governing equations is then performed to validate results of asymptotic analysis in each case. A full global nonlinear dynamics analysis of the elasto-plastic system is performed to reveal the role of plastic deformations in the stability of this system. Static 'force-displacement' curves are plotted and the role of plastic deformations in the destabilisation of the system is discussed. Large-amplitude non-linear oscillations of the elasto-plastic system are studied, including the influence of material hardening and of static and sinusoidal components of the applied force. A practical method is proposed for the study of a non-conservative elasto-plastic system as a non-conservative elastic system with an 'equivalent' viscous damping. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Experimental modal analysis for microelectromechanical systems

The structural dynamics behavior of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), which include moving, overhung, and compliant subcomponents, plays a pivotal role in determining their performance and reliability. Traditionally, experimental modal analysis is used to characterize the dynamic behavior of structures, as well as to derive, validate, update, and correct analytical and numerical models. Due to their small size, however, conventional modal testing methods cannot be directly applied to microstructures. In this paper we provide an overview of modal testing techniques for microsystems. A particular experimental modal analysis methodology that includes base excitation via a piezoelectric shaker and measurement through a laser interferometer is then described and evaluated. A distinguishing characteristic of the methodology is its simplicity, including its simple setup and off-the-shelf components. The modal model is derived for the base excitation of microcantilever beams. The effectiveness of the methodology is illustrated through various experiments on polysilicon microcantilevers for different geometries and ambient pressures. Analysis of the damping data for different pressures has confirmed the well-documented fact that the structural damping in microsystems can be considerably less than damping arising from interaction with the ambient gases.     

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.     

Elastic–plastic behavior of a semicircular frame being pressed against a rigid plane

As a simplified structural model, a semicircular frame is used to study the crashworthiness behavior of an aircraft fuselage. The quasi-static large elastic-plastic deformation of a semicircular frame in the process of its being pressed against a rigid ground is analyzed. First, based on the linear elastic assumption, the quasi-static large deformation contact process of the frame can be divided into three phases, i.e., point contact, line contact and post-buckling. By means of a shooting method, the relations between the displacement and contact force as well as the distribution of bending moment in the three phases are obtained. Then, by assuming an elastic, perfectly-plastic moment-curvature relationship for the semi-circular frame, the contact process is analyzed in detail to reveal the plastic collapse mechanism, the traveling of plastic hinge and the force-displacement relationship. In order to verify the analysis, a preliminary experiment was conducted, in which two types of half rings with clamped ends were pressed by a rigid plate. In addition, a numerical simulation is also conducted by employing ABAQUS to analyze both rectangular cross-sectional beam and I-beam. Finally, the theoretical predictions are compared with the experimental results and numerical solutions, showing that the elastic-plastic analysis can predict the contact process very well.     

作大范围回转运动柔性梁斜碰撞动力学研究

为正确估计由于碰撞引起的多柔体系统动力学特性的变化,针对作大范围回转运动的柔性梁与一固定斜面发生斜碰撞的情况,在考虑刚柔耦合效应的多柔体系统动力学建模理论的基础上,利用假设模态法建立起重力场作用下的柔性梁一致线性化动力法向碰撞过程中系统的动力行为。基于Ｈｅｒｔｚ接触理论和非线性阻尼项建立法向碰撞接触模型,基于线性切向接触刚度建立柔性梁切向碰撞接触模型,提出的数值算法保证了计算结果的合理性,给出的仿     

含黏弹性夹芯FG-GRC后屈曲梁的低速冲击响应

研究了含黏弹性夹芯的功能梯度石墨烯增强复合材料(functionally graded graphene reinforced composite, FG-GRC)后屈曲梁在低速跌落冲击下的跳跃振荡行为.采用修正Halpin-Tsai细观模型预测FG-GRC的材料宏观属性.使用赫兹点接触模型确定冲击器和梁之间的接触力.提出了考虑轴向预应力的复合材料层本构关系和阻尼层的Kelvin型黏弹性本构.通过一种广义高阶剪切变形锯齿梁模型建立夹芯梁的非线性位移场. 基于Hamilton 能量变分原理, 推导了动力学控制方程组. 通过两步分析,首先获得弹性后屈曲平衡路径作为冲击问题的初始状态. 随后, 结合四阶龙格库塔法,拓展了两步摄动-伽辽金法计算接触力的时程曲线以及后屈曲梁的位移时程曲线.研究了后屈曲梁在单次和两次撞击下双稳态大幅振荡过程的动力学特征.讨论了轴向载荷、冲击速度、黏弹性阻尼特性、冲击器材料等因素对于碰撞接触力以及后屈曲梁动力响应的影响规律.结果表明, 接触力仅对冲击速度较为敏感,一定的结构碰撞参数设计可以在接触力变化不大的情况下,使得后屈曲梁由单势能阱运动转变为双阱大幅振荡.      

阻尼对空爆荷载等效静载动力系数的影响

为考查阻尼参数对空爆荷载等效静载动力系数的影响,理论推导了空爆荷载下结构等效单自由体系弹塑性位移解及延性比解,设计并计算了阻尼比0.000 1～0.1、延性比1～4的20种典型工况的动力系数,并与现行抗爆设计规范动力系数公式结果进行了对比。结果表明:阻尼比小于0.000 1时可基本代表无阻尼状态,阻尼比0.01的动力系数比无阻尼的最大降低幅度为2.08%,数值差异很小,因此阻尼比为0.01以内时,可忽略阻尼对动力系数的影响;阻尼比0.05的动力系数比无阻尼的降低幅度约9.92%,数值差异较大,认为阻尼比0.05以上时将具有明显的经济效益;现行设计规范动力系数更适用于柔性结构体系,运用于刚性结构抗爆设计时,计算误差较大,对阻尼比较小的结构设计更不利。     

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.     

柔性梁刚柔耦合碰撞动力学及变形传播研究

运用柔性多体系统刚柔耦合动力学理论,研究了作大范围回转运动柔性梁的碰撞动力学问题.考虑柔性梁的横向变形,以及横向变形引起的纵向缩短项即非线性耦合变形项.采用基于Hertz接触理论及非线性阻尼理论的非线性弹簧阻尼模型来求解碰撞过程中产生的碰撞力,运用第二类拉格朗日方程建立了系统的刚柔耦合碰撞动力学方程.编制仿真软件进行动力学仿真计算,得到了碰撞力和系统动力学响应,对比分析了不同动力学模型对系统动力学响应的影响.同时研究了碰撞导致的柔性梁横向变形传播的波动特性.     

Live monitoring of the distributed strain field in impulsive events through fiber Bragg gratings

In this paper, we propose a measurement technique based on local strain measurements to perform real-time reconstruction of the overall structural deformation and the distributed stress field produced by the impact of a body on a water free surface. In particular, we seek establishing a measurement chain capable of acquiring and elaborating the signals at high frequency, so that it can be utilized to study rapidly varying strain fields, such as those occurring in impulsive events. Fiber Bragg gratings are utilized to sense the local structural deformation. Experiments are conducted on flexible plastic wedges with variable deadrise angles impacting on a quiescent fluid surface. The experimental tests are performed in free fall and we explore variations of the entry velocity by varying the drop height. The structural deformation is reconstructed from point-wise strain measurements utilizing a modal reconstruction methodology. The impact dynamics are analysed through accelerometers and linear position sensors. Results show that the impact behaviour of the flexible body is characterized by a main overall deformation where the structure is distorted in the direction of the loading, whereby marked vibrations, whose amplitude increase with the entry velocity, dominate the dynamic response. The influence of the mode shapes considered in the present analysis on the accuracy of the results is also observed. The proposed methodology allows for a fairly high acquisition frequency, which translates into a real-time structural reconstruction technique. Results show that the proposed methodology can be a valuable tool for the live monitoring of structures undergoing impact events.