Mixed finite element analysis of semi-coercive unilateral contact problems with given friction

A unilateral contact 2D-problem is considered provided one of two elastic bodies can shift in a given direction as a rigid body. Using Lagrange multipliers for both normal and tangential constraints on the contact interface, we introduce a saddle point problem and prove its unique solvability. We discretize the problem by a standard finite element method and prove a convergence of approximations. We propose a numerical realization on the basis of an auxiliary “ bolted” problem and the algorithm of Uzawa.     

The bringing of two rigid bodies into collision-free contact by bounded controls in a finite time

The control problem of moving a rigid body onto the surface of another rigid body in such a way that no collision occurs in investigated. For this, phase constraints must be satisfied in the sense that the surface of one body must not overlap the other, and here an important condition must be met: contact of the bodies is ensured by bounded controls and in a finite time. No impact of the rigid bodies occurs at the instant of contact because a strict rule is observed: if any point of one body lies on the surface of the other, then the velocity of the point is directed along this surface (or away from it). To observe this rule, special controls are used. These controls realize assigned accurate values of the coordinates and velocities of the mechanical system in a finite time.     

Modelling of three-dimensional mechanical systems using point coordinates with a recursive approach

In this paper, the dynamic simulation of constrained mechanical systems that are interconnected of rigid bodies is studied using projection recursive algorithm. The method uses the concepts of linear and angular momentums to generate the rigid body equations of motion in terms of the Cartesian coordinates of a dynamically equivalent constrained system of particles, without introducing any rotational coordinates and the corresponding rotational transformation matrix. Closed-chain system is transformed to open-chain by cutting suitable kinematical joints and introducing cut-joint constraints. For the resulting open-chain system, the equations of motion are generated recursively along the serial chains. An example is chosen to demonstrate the generality and simplicity of the developed formulation.     

Efficient and Adaptive Lagrange-Multiplier Methods for Nonlinear Continuous Global Optimization

Lagrangian methods are popular in solving continuous constrained optimization problems. In this paper, we address three important issues in applying Lagrangian methods to solve optimization problems with inequality constraints.First, we study methods to transform inequality constraints into equality constraints. An existing method, called the slack-variable method, adds a slack variable to each inequality constraint in order to transform it into an equality constraint. Its disadvantage is that when the search trajectory is inside a feasible region, some satisfied constraints may still pose some effect on the Lagrangian function, leading to possible oscillations and divergence when a local minimum lies on the boundary of the feasible region. To overcome this problem, we propose the MaxQ method that carries no effect on satisfied constraints. Hence, minimizing the Lagrangian function in a feasible region always leads to a local minimum of the objective function. We also study some strategies to speed up its convergence.Second, we study methods to improve the convergence speed of Lagrangian methods without affecting the solution quality. This is done by an adaptive-control strategy that dynamically adjusts the relative weights between the objective and the Lagrangian part, leading to better balance between the two and faster convergence.Third, we study a trace-based method to pull the search trajectory from one saddle point to another in a continuous fashion without restarts. This overcomes one of the problems in existing Lagrangian methods that converges only to one saddle point and requires random restarts to look for new saddle points, often missing good saddle points in the vicinity of saddle points already found.Finally, we describe a prototype Novel (Nonlinear Optimization via External Lead) that implements our proposed strategies and present improved solutions in solving a collection of benchmarks.     

A smoothing augmented Lagrangian method for solving simple bilevel programs

In this paper, we design a numerical algorithm for solving a simple bilevel program where the lower level program is a nonconvex minimization problem with a convex set constraint. We propose to solve a combined problem where the first order condition and the value function are both present in the constraints. Since the value function is in general nonsmooth, the combined problem is in general a nonsmooth and nonconvex optimization problem. We propose a smoothing augmented Lagrangian method for solving a general class of nonsmooth and nonconvex constrained optimization problems. We show that, if the sequence of penalty parameters is bounded, then any accumulation point is a Karush-Kuch-Tucker (KKT) point of the nonsmooth optimization problem. The smoothing augmented Lagrangian method is used to solve the combined problem. Numerical experiments show that the algorithm is efficient for solving the simple bilevel program.     

Optimization of the two-dimensional temperature fields in inhomogeneous bodies with constraints on the phase coordinates

We state a problem of speed-optimal control of the two-dimensional nonstationary temperature regime in inhomogeneous bodies with constraints on the control (the temperature of the heating medium) and the phase coordinates (the temperature of the body, the temperature range, and the heat flux on the surface of the body), and we propose a method for solving the problem numerically. We give as an example the computation of the optimal control of heating of a hollow infinite cylinder under constraints on the temperature range. Translated fromMatematichni Metodi ta Fiziko-mekhanichni Polya, Vol. 39, No. 1, 1996, pp. 119–123.     

A Lagrangian formulation for steady three-dimensional Newton-Busemann flow

A new Lagrangian formulation for steady three dimensional inviscid flow over rigid bodies is developed. First, the continuity equation is eliminated by the use of two stream functions. This is followed by a transformation to new independent variables, two of which are these stream functions and the third one is a Lagrangian time distinct from the Eulerian time. This Lagrangian formulation with the use of Lagrangian time requires only three independent variables and allows the free boundary problem of flow with shock wave to be rendered a fixed boundary one thereby making it easier to solve. In the Newtonian limit the governing equations reduce to the geodesic equations of the body surface. For flow past two-dimensional bodies, bodies of revolution, and conical bodies and wings, the problems are solved to within quadrature. All known Newtonian flow solutions are found to be special cases of the present theory.     

On conditions of existence of permanent rotations of connected rigid bodies system about vertical vector

In contrast to the classical problem of motion of a heavy rigid body about a fixed point where the permanent rotations are well known and completely investigated [7, 3] as the most simple and good visually demonstrated type of motions, in multibody mechanics under an increasing of quantity of the system bodies, mechanical parameters and the order of differential motion equations the study of such motions is more complicated problem. The problem on permanent rotations of two connected rigid bodies under influence of gravity force was investigated in [2, 4]. In this paper a system consisting of arbitrary constant quantity, n, of heavy rigid bodies which are sequentially jointed in a chain is considered. The conditions of existence of motions when each body permanently rotates about the vertical vector are determined. These conditions are analyzed in a general case when the bodies angular velocities are different.     

The stability of the steady motions of a rigid body in a central field

The problem of the translational-rotational motion of a rigid body with a triaxial ellipsoid of inertia in a central gravitational field is considered. The body is modelled by a weightless sphere, at the ends of the three mutually perpendicular diameters of which there are point masses. It is shown that, unlike the cases when the approximate expression for the potential of the gravity forces is used, there are not only “trivial” steady motions of the body, for which the main central axes of inertia of the body coincide with the axes of the orbital system of coordinates, but also other classes of steady motions. In addition, the stability of these “trivial” steady motions is investigated, and the possibility of secular stability of the motions, unstable in the satellite approximation, is pointed out.     

A general method for writing the dynamical equations of nonholonomic systems with ideal constraints

The basic notions of the dynamics of nonholonomic systems are revisited in order to give a general and simple method for writing the dynamical equations for linear as well as non-linear kinematical constraints. The method is based on the representation of the constraints by parametric equations, which are interpreted as dynamical equations, and leads to first-order differential equations in normal form, involving the Lagrangian coordinates and auxiliary variables (the use of Lagrangian multipliers is avoided). Various examples are illustrated.      

Partial Augmented Lagrangian Method and Mathematical Programs with Complementarity Constraints

In this paper, we apply a partial augmented Lagrangian method to mathematical programs with complementarity constraints (MPCC). Specifically, only the complementarity constraints are incorporated into the objective function of the augmented Lagrangian problem while the other constraints of the original MPCC are retained as constraints in the augmented Lagrangian problem. We show that the limit point of a sequence of points that satisfy second-order necessary conditions of the partial augmented Lagrangian problems is a strongly stationary point (hence a B-stationary point) of the original MPCC if the limit point is feasible to MPCC, the linear independence constraint qualification for MPCC and the upper level strict complementarity condition hold at the limit point. Furthermore, this limit point also satisfies a second-order necessary optimality condition of MPCC. Numerical experiments are done to test the computational performances of several methods for MPCC proposed in the literature. This research was partially supported by the Research Grants Council (BQ654) of Hong Kong and the Postdoctoral Fellowship of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Dedicated to Alex Rubinov on the occassion of his 65th birthday.     

Graph rigidity via Euclidean distance matrices

Let G=(V,E,ω) be an incomplete graph with node set V, edge set E, and nonnegative weights ω_ij's on the edges. Let each edge (v_i,v_j) be viewed as a rigid bar, of length ω_ij, which can rotate freely around its end nodes. A realization of a graph G is an assignment of coordinates, in some Euclidean space, to each node of G. In this paper, we consider the problem of determining whether or not a given realization of a graph G is rigid. We show that each realization of G can be epresented as a point in a compact convex set ; and that a generic realization of G is rigid if and only if its corresponding point is a vertex of Ω, i.e., an extreme point with full-dimensional normal cone.     

A fast contraction mapping for solving multibody systems

The simulation of complex multibody systems with contacts and friction requires a fast and robust solver for complementarity problems. This work presents an efficient method which can solve large cone-complementarity problems by means of a fixed point iteration. Our method performs like a contractive mapping, providing a monotonic approximation to the exact solution. The algorithm features high computational performance even if thousands of unilateral constraints are added to the system. Also, this scheme fits well in a real-time simulation context because it can be terminated prematurely. As a benchmark for testing the method in challenging situations, we propose the simulation of the granular flow in a fourth-generation bebble-bed nuclear reactor, including 150'000 rigid bodies and more than a million of constraint multipliers. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Quantization of classical lagrangian mechanics

The equations of motion of a massive rigid body in the Lagrange—Poisson case (when one point of the body is fixed) are expressed in Hamiltonian form, making it possible to describe the Lagrangian rigid body in terms of classical mechanics. Using Berezin's quantization algorithm, it is possible to associate the Lagrangian classical mechanics with a quantum system, namely, a system of two-level particles interacting with a resonant field.Elabuga State Pedagogical Institute. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Matematicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 91, No. 3, pp. 433–439, June 1992.     

带组约束可靠性网络最优化问题的精确算法

本文提出了一种求解带组约束串-并网络系统最优冗余问题的精确算法.该算法利用拉格朗日松驰和Dantzig-Wolfe分解法得到问题的上界,并结合动态规划求解子问题.算法采用一种有效的切割和剖分方法,以逐步缩小对偶间隙和保证收敛性.数值结果表明该算法对于求解带组约束可靠性最优化问题是很有效的.     

A nonlinear finite element framework for flexible multibody dynamics

We present a uniform treatment of rigid body dynamics and nonlinear structural dynamics. The advocated approach is based on a rotationless formulation of rigid bodies, nonlinear beams and shells. In this connection, the specific kinematic assumptions are taken into account by the explicit incorporation of holonomic constraints. This approach facilitates the straightforward extension to flexible multibody dynamics by including additional constraints due to the interconnection of rigid and flexible bodies. We further address the design of energy-momentum schemes for the stable numerical integration of the underlying finite-dimensional Hamiltonian systems. To demonstrate the superior numerical performance of the proposed methodology, the numerical examples deals with a multibody system containing both rigid and flexible bodies undergoing large deformations. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Saddle points and gap functions for weak generalized Ky Fan inequalities

In this paper, we employ the image space analysis method to investigate a weak generalized Ky Fan inequality with cone constraints. Some regular weak separation functions are introduced, and generalized Lagrangian functions are constructed by using these regular weak separation functions. Under suitable convexity assumptions and Slater condition, the existence of solution for the weak generalized Ky Fan inequality with cone constraints is equivalent to a saddle point of the generalized Lagrangian functions. Moreover, we also use the regular weak separation functions to construct gap functions for the weak generalized Ky Fan inequality with cone constraints, and obtain its error bound.     

Analysis of the one-dimensional Euler–Lagrange equation of continuum mechanics with a Lagrangian of a special form

The equations describing the flow of a one-dimensional continuum in Lagrangian coordinates are studied in this paper by the group analysis method. They are reduced to a single Euler–Lagrange equation which contains two undetermined functions (arbitrary elements). Particular choices of these arbitrary elements correspond to different forms of the shallow water equations, including those with both, a varying bottom and advective impulse transfer effect, and also some other motions of a continuum. A complete group classification of the equations with respect to the arbitrary elements is performed.One advantage of the Lagrangian coordinates consists of the presence of a Lagrangian, so that the equations studied become Euler–Lagrange equations. This allows us to apply Noether’s theorem for constructing conservation laws in Lagrangian coordinates. Not every conservation law in Lagrangian coordinates has a counterpart in Eulerian coordinates, whereas the converse is true. Using Noether’s theorem, conservation laws which can be obtained by the point symmetries are presented, and their analogs in Eulerian coordinates are given, where they exist.     

Optimal control of the rectilinear motion of a rigid body on a rough plane by means of the motion of two internal masses

The problem of the optimal control of a rigid body moving along a rough horizontal plane due to motion of two internal masses is solved. One of the masses moves horizontally parallel to the line of motion of the main body, while the other mass moves in the vertical direction. Such a mechanical system models a vibration-driven robot–a mobile device able to move in a resistive medium without special propellers (e.g., wheels, legs or caterpillars). Periodic motions are constructed for the internal masses to ensure velocity-periodic motion of the main body with maximum average velocity, provided that the period is fixed and the magnitudes of the accelerations of the internal masses relative to the main body do not exceed prescribed limits. Based on the optimal solution obtained for a fixed period without any constraints imposed on the amplitudes of vibration of the internal masses, a suboptimal solution that takes such constraints into account is constructed.     

Inexact-Restoration Method with Lagrangian Tangent Decrease and New Merit Function for Nonlinear Programming

A new inexact-restoration method for nonlinear programming is introduced. The iteration of the main algorithm has two phases. In Phase 1, feasibility is improved explicitly; in Phase 2, optimality is improved on a tangent approximation of the constraints. Trust regions are used for reducing the step when the trial point is not good enough. The trust region is not centered in the current point, as in many nonlinear programming algorithms, but in the intermediate more feasible point. Therefore, in this semifeasible approach, the more feasible intermediate point is considered to be essentially better than the current point. This is the first method in which intermediate-point-centered trust regions are combined with the decrease of the Lagrangian in the tangent approximation to the constraints. The merit function used in this paper is also new: it consists of a convex combination of the Lagrangian and the nonsquared norm of the constraints. The Euclidean norm is used for simplicity, but other norms for measuring infeasibility are admissible. Global convergence theorems are proved, a theoretically justified algorithm for the first phase is introduced, and some numerical insight is given.