AN EFFICIENT FORMULATION FOR THE MODELING OF GENERAL MULTI-FLEXIBLE-BODY CONSTRAINED SYSTEMS

This paper presents a computer based method for the efficient formulation and solution of the nonlinear equations of motion for mechanical systems which are modeled as systems of interconnected flexible bodies and are subject to motion and/or geometric constraints. Flexibility is modeled through the use of admissible functions obtained from previous finite element analysis of the component bodies. The procedure then forms the equations of motion and solves for the system state derivatives associated with the unconstrained system in a highly efficient, order n manner. The constraint loads required to enforce the constraint relations are subsequently determined through the use of a constraint stabilization method. The required constraint loads are then used to modify the state derivatives found previously, resulting in a set of state derivative values which are now associated with the constrained system. The procedure is efficient and produces simulation computer code which is highly parallel in form and lends itself well to application on parallel computers.