Equivalence of Dynamics for Nonholonomic Systems with Transverse Constraints

This paper is concerned with the dynamics of a mechanical system subject to nonintegrable constraints. In the first part, we prove the equivalence between the classical nonholonomic equations and those derived from the nonholonomic variational formulation, proposed by Kozlov in [10–12], for a class of constrained systems with constraints transverse to a foliation. This result extends the equivalence between the two formulations, proved for holonomic constraints, to a class of linear nonintegrable ones. In the second part, we derive the nonholonomic variational reduced equations for a constrained system with symmetry and constraint transverse to a principal bundle fibration, using a reduction procedure similar to the one developed in [5]. The resulting equations are compared with the nonholonomic reduced ones through mechanical examples.     

非完整约束系统几何动力学研究进展:Lagrange理论及其它

近10年来, 非完整力学的发展主要集中在两个相互关联的方向上, 一个是非完整运动规划, 另一个则是非完整约束系统的几何动力学, 这两个研究方向都充分地利用了现代几何学, 如纤维丛理论、辛流形和Poisson流形结构等等.本文主要综述非完整约束系统几何动力学的外附型和内禀型Lagrange理论, 包括非定常力学系统所需要的射丛几何学的基本概念、射丛按约束的直和分解、约束流形上的水平分布、D'Alembert-Lagrange方程与Chaplygin方程的整体描述、以及Riemann-Cartan流形上的非完整力学, 文中对Chetaev条件和d-δ交换关系的几何意义作了深入讨论.除此之外, 简要评述非完整力学的Hamilton理论与赝Poisson结构、Noether对称性和Lie对称性、动量映射与对称约化、Vakonomic动力学等几个非常重要专题的研究进展.      

Lie symmetries,symmetrical perturbation and a new adiabatic invariant for disturbed nonholonomic systems

For a nonlinear nonholonomic constrained mechanical system with the action of small forces of perturbation, Lie symmetries, symmetrical perturbation, and a new type of non-Noether adiabatic invariants are presented in general infinitesimal transformation of Lie groups. Based on the invariance of the equations of motion for the system under general infinitesimal transformation of Lie groups, the Lie symmetrical determining equations, constraints restriction equations, additional restriction equations, and exact invariants of the system are given. Then, under the action of small forces of perturbation, the determining equations, constraints restriction equations, and additional restriction equations of the Lie symmetrical perturbation are obtained, and adiabatic invariants of the Lie symmetrical perturbation, the weakly Lie symmetrical perturbation, and the strongly Lie symmetrical perturbation for the disturbed nonholonomic system are obtained, respectively. Furthermore, a set of non-Noether exact invariants and adiabatic invariants are given in the special infinitesimal transformations. Finally, one example is given to illustrate the application of the method and results.     

Energy integrals for mechanical systems with nonlinear nonholonomic constraints

The work analyzes energy relations for nonholonomic systems, whose motion is restricted by nonlinear nonholonomic constraints. For the mechanical systems with linear constraints, the analysis of energy relations was carried out in [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6] …. On the basis of corresponding Lagrange’s equations, a general law of the change in energy dε/dt is formulated for mentioned systems by the help of which it is shown that there are two types of the laws of conservation of energy, depending on the structure of elementary work of the forces of constraint reactions. Also, the condition for existing the second type of the law of conservation of energy is formulated in the form of the system of partial differential equations. The obtained results are illustrated by a model of nonholonomic mechanical system.     

Szebehely's problem for nonholonomic systems with a given first integral

I.IntroductionTheinverseproblemofdynamicsisoneoftheimportantsubjectsinmechanics.In1977,Szebehelysetforthaninverseproblemforthedeterminationofthet'orcefunctiontoamaterialpointintheplanefromparametricfamilyoftrajectories,andobtainedalinearfirstorderpartialdifferentialequationfortheforcefunction.Later,Erdil'l,MellsandPirast=l,MellsandBorgherol'l,BoilsandMertnsl4]extendedSzebehely'sproblemtoboththreeandndimensionalholonomicsystem.Recently,theauthorandProfessorMetFengxiangl'1studiedtheSzebehe…     

A new approach to the vakonomic mechanics

The aim of this paper was to show that the Lagrange–d’Alembert and its equivalent the Gauss and Appel principle are not the only way to deduce the equations of motion of the nonholonomic systems. Instead of them we consider the generalization of the Hamiltonian principle for nonholonomic systems with non-zero transpositional relations. We apply this variational principle, which takes into the account transpositional relations different from the classical ones, and we deduce the equations of motion for the nonholonomic systems with constraints that in general are nonlinear in the velocity. These equations of motion coincide, except perhaps in a zero Lebesgue measure set, with the classical differential equations deduced with the d’Alembert–Lagrange principle. We provide a new point of view on the transpositional relations for the constrained mechanical systems: the virtual variations can produce zero or non-zero transpositional relations. In particular, the independent virtual variations can produce non-zero transpositional relations. For the unconstrained mechanical systems, the virtual variations always produce zero transpositional relations. We conjecture that the existence of the nonlinear constraints in the velocity must be sought outside of the Newtonian mechanics. We illustrate our results with examples.     

Another form of equations of motion for constrained multibody systems

This paper presents a new and simplified set of explicit equations of motion for constrained mechanical systems. The equations are applicable with both holonomic and nonholonomic systems and the constraints may, or may not, be ideal. It is shown that this set of equations is equivalent to governing equations developed earlier by others. The connection of these equations with Kane's equations is discussed. It is shown that the developed equations are directly applicable with controlled systems where the controlling forces and moments may be subject to constraints. Finally, a procedure is presented for determining which control force systems are equivalent. Examples are presented to demonstrate the advantages, features, and range of application of the equations.     

具有可积微分约束的力学系统的Lie对称性

研究具有可积微分约束的力学系统的Ｌｉｅ对称性与守恒量。采用两种方法：一是用不可积微分约束系统的方法;另一是用积分后降阶系统的方法,研究两种方法之间的关系。     

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.     

Formulation and solution for inverse problem of nonholonomic dynamics

This paper presents a formulation and solution for the inverse problem ofnonholonomic dynamics:to find the form of nonholonomic constraints when someintegrals are given and to find the generalized reactive forces of constraint acting onthe system when the expression of the kinetic energy is given.An example is given toillustrate the application of the result.     

New methods to find solutions and analyze stability of equilibrium of nonholonomic mechanical systems

A large proportion of constrained mechanical systems result in nonlinear ordinary differential equations, for which it is quite difficult to find analytical solutions. The initial motions method proposed by Whittaker is effective to deal with such problems for various constrained mechanical systems, including the nonholonomic systems discussed in the first part of this paper, where in addition to differential equations of motion, nonholonomic constraints apply. The final equations of motion for these systems are obtained in the form of corresponding power series. Also, an alternative, direct method to determine the initial values of higher-order derivatives \({\ddot{q}}_0 ,{{\dddot{q}{} }}_{\!0} ,\ldots \) is proposed, being different from that of Whittaker. The second part of this work analyzes the stability of equilibrium of less complex, nonholonomic mechanical systems represented by gradient systems. We discuss the stability of equilibrium of such systems based on the properties of the gradient system. The advantage of this novel method is its avoidance of the difficulty of directly establishing Lyapunov functions aimed at such unsteady nonlinear systems. Finally, these theoretical considerations are illustrated through four examples.     

Quasi-momentum theorem in Riemann-Cartan space

The geometric formulation of motion of the first-order linear homogenous scleronomous nonholonomic system subjected to active forces is studied with the nonholonomic mapping theory. The quasi-Newton law, the quasi-momentum theorem, and the second kind Lagrange equation of dynamical systems are obtained in the Riemann-Cartan configuration spaces. By the nonholonomic mapping, a Euclidean configuration space or a Riemann configuration space of a dynamical system can be mapped into a Riemann-Cartan configuration space with torsion. The differential equations of motion of the dynamical system can be obtained in its Riemann-Cartan configuration space by the quasi-Newton law or the quasi-momentum theorem. For a constrained system, the differential equations of motion in its Riemann-Cartan configuration space may be simpler than the equations in its Euclidean configuration space or its Riemann configuration space. Therefore, the nonholonomic mapping theory can solve some constrained problems, which are difficult to be solved by the traditional analytical mechanics method. Three examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the method.     

CONSTRAINT VIOLATION STABILIZATION OF EULER-LAGRANGE EQUATIONS WITH NON-HOLONOMIC CONSTRAINTS

Two constraint violation stabilization methods are presented to solve the Euler Lagrange equations of motion of a multibody system with nonholonomic constraints. Compared to the previous works, the newly devised methods can deal with more complicated problems such as those with nonholonomic constraints or redundant constraints, and save the computation time. Finally a numerical simulation of a multibody system is conducted by using the methods given in this paper.     

有多余坐标完整系统的自由运动

对于完整力学系统,若选取的参数不是完全独立的,则称为有多余坐标的完整系统. 由于完整力学系统的第二类Lagrange 方程中没有约束力,故为研究完整力学系统的约束力,需采用有多余坐标的带乘子的Lagrange方程或第一类Lagrange 方程. 一些动力学问题要求约束力不能为零,而另一些问题要求约束力很小. 如果约束力为零,则称为系统的自由运动问题. 本文提出并研究了有多余坐标完整系统的自由运动问题. 为研究系统的自由运动,首先,由d'Alembert-Lagrange 原理, 利用Lagrange 乘子法建立有多余坐标完整系统的运动微分方程;其次,由多余坐标完整系统的运动方程和约束方程建立乘子满足的代数方程并得到约束力的表达式;最后,由约束系统自由运动的定义,令所有乘子为零,得到系统实现自由运动的条件. 这些条件的个数等于约束方程的个数,它们依赖于系统的动能、广义力和约束方程,给出其中任意两个条件,均可以得到实现自由运动时对另一个条件的限制. 即当给定动能和约束方程,这些条件会给出实现自由运动时广义力之间的关系. 当给定动能和广义力,这些条件会给出实现自由运动时对约束方程的限制. 当给定广义力和约束方程,这些条件会给出实现自由运动时对动能的限制. 文末,举例并说明方法和结果的应用.      

Variational principles for constrained systems: Theory and experiment

In this paper we present two methods, the nonholonomic method and the vakonomic method, for deriving equations of motion for a mechanical system with constraints. The resulting equations are compared. Results are also presented from an experiment for a model system: a ball rolling without sliding on a rotating table. Both sets of equations of motion for the model system are compared with the experimental results. The effects of various forms of friction are considered in the nonholonomic equations. With appropriate friction terms, the nonholonomic equations of motion for the model system give reasonable agreement with the experimental observations.     

Free-floating closed-chain planar robots: Kinematics and path planning

The study of free-floating manipulators is important for the success of robotics program in space and in the design of innovative robot systems which can operate over a large workspace. In order to study the fundamental theoretical and experimental issues encountered in space robotics, a closed-chain planar manipulator was built at Ohio University (OU) which floats on a flat table using air bearings. Due to the absence of external forces in the plane of the table and couples normal to this plane, the linear momentum in the plane and the angular momentum normal to this plane are conserved. It is well known that the linear momentum equations are holonomic while the angular momentum equation is nonholonomic. Due to this nonholonomic behavior, the path-planning schemes commonly used for fixed-base manipulators do not directly apply to free-floating manipulators. In this paper, we present an algorithm for motion planning of planar free-floating manipulators based on the inverse position kinematics of the mechanism. It is demonstrated that the inverse position kinematics algorithms, commonly used for fixed-base manipulators, can be successfully applied to free-floating manipulators using an iterative search procedure to satisfy the nonholonomic angular momentum constraints. This procedure results in paths identical to those predicted by inverse rate kinematics. The inverse position kinematics algorithm is then used to avoid singularities during motion to result in successful paths. The results of the simulation of this algorithm using parameter estimates of the OU free-floating robot are presented.     

Forces associated with non-linear non-holonomic constraint equations

A concise method has been formulated for identifying a set of forces needed to constrain the behavior of a mechanical system, modeled as a set of particles and rigid bodies, when it is subject to motion constraints described by non-holonomic equations that are inherently non-linear in velocity. An expression in vector form is obtained for each force; a direction is determined, together with the point of application. This result is a consequence of expressing constraint equations in terms of dot products of vectors rather than in the usual way, which is entirely in terms of scalars and matrices. The constraint forces in vector form are used together with two new analytical approaches for deriving equations governing motion of a system subject to such constraints. If constraint forces are of interest they can be brought into evidence in explicit dynamical equations by employing the well-known non-holonomic partial velocities associated with Kane's method; if they are not of interest, equations can be formed instead with the aid of vectors introduced here as non-holonomic partial accelerations. When the analyst requires only the latter, smaller set of equations, they can be formed directly; it is not necessary to expend the labor first to form the former, larger set and subsequently perform matrix multiplications.     

Finite and impulsive motion of constrained mechanical systems via Jourdain's principle: discrete and hybrid parameter models

The main purpose of this paper is to present a unified analytical dynamics framework for the analysis of finite and impulsive motion of mechanical systems using Jourdain's principle. Emphasis is given to the general case when a mechanical system is described by a hybrid (discrete-distributed) parameter model. A large group of finite and impulsive, generally non-holonomic, constraints are analysed in detail and a so-called extended Appellian classification is presented for these constrained motion problems. The fundamental dynamic equation of constrained systems is developed in terms of velocity variations (Jourdain's principle). Based on this equation and the constraints, the methods of quasivelocities and Lagrangian multipliers are adopted and interpreted for the finite motion of hybrid parameter models of mechanical systems; and the methods of independent quasivelocity variations and Lagrangian multipliers are introduced for the analysis of impulsive motion of such models. To illustrate the proposed material, an example of a one-link flexible arm intercepting and capturing a moving target is considered.