The important interaction between modeling and solution techniques is demonstrated by using a simplified multibody model of a truck thoughout the book to illustrate all key concepts.

This monograph, written from a numerical analysis perspective, aims to provide a comprehensive treatment of both the mathematical framework and the numerical methods for flexible multibody dynamics. Not only is this field permanently and rapidly growing, with various applications in aerospace engineering, biomechanics, robotics, and vehicle analysis, its foundations can also be built on reasonably established mathematical models. Regarding actual computations, great strides have been made over the last two decades, as sophisticated software packages are now capable of simulating highly complex structures with rigid and deformable components. The approach used in this book should benefit graduate students and scientists working in computational mechanics and related disciplines as well as those interested in time-dependent partial differential equations and heterogeneous problems with multiple time scales. Additionally, a number of open issues at the frontiers of research are addressed by taking a differential-algebraic approach and extending it to the notion of transient saddle point problems.

This book analyzes several compliant contact force models within the context of multibody dynamics, while also revisiting the main issues associated with fundamental contact mechanics. In particular, it presents various contact force models, from linear to nonlinear, from purely elastic to dissipative, and describes their parameters. Addressing the different numerical methods and algorithms for contact problems in multibody systems, the book describes the gross motion of multibody systems by using a two-dimensional formulation based on the absolute coordinates and employs different contact models to represent contact-impact events. Results for selected planar multibody mechanical systems are presented and utilized to discuss the main assumptions and procedures adopted throughout this work. The material provided here indicates that the prediction of the dynamic behavior of mechanical systems involving contact-impact strongly depends on the choice of contact force model. In short, the book provides a comprehensive resource for the multibody dynamics community and beyond on modeling contact forces and the dynamics of mechanical systems undergoing contact-impact events.

The book presents innovative methods for the solution of multibody descriptor models. It emphasizes the interdependence of modeling and numerical solution of the arising system of differential-algebraic equations (DAE). Here, it is shown that modifications of non-stiff ODE-solvers are very effective for a large class of multibody systems. In particular, implicit methods are found to dovetail optimally with the linearly implicit structure of the model equations, allowing an inverse dynamics approach for their solution. Furthermore, the book stresses the importance of software development in scientific computing and thus presents a complete example of an interdisciplinary problem solution for an important field of application from technical mechanics.

Flexible Multibody Dynamics comprehensively describes the numerical modelling of flexible multibody dynamics systems in space and aircraft structures, vehicles, and mechanical systems. A rigorous approach is followed to handle finite rotations in 3D, with a thorough discussion of the different alternatives for parametrization. Modelling of flexible bodies is treated following the Finite Element technique, a novel aspect in multibody systems simulation. Moreover, this book provides extensive coverage of the formulation of a general purpose software for flexible multibody dynamics analysis, based on an exhaustive treatment of large rotations and finite element modelling, and incorporating useful reference material. Features include different solution techniques such as: * time integration of differential-algebraic equations * non-linear substructuring * continuation methods * nonlinear bifurcation analysis. In essence, this is an ideal text for senior undergraduates, postgraduates and professionals in mechanical and aeronautical engineering, as well as mechanical design engineers and researchers, and engineers working in areas such as kinematics and dynamics of deployable structures, vehicle dynamics and mechanical design.

This textbook – a result of the author’s many years of research and teaching – brings together diverse concepts of the versatile tool of multibody dynamics, combining the efforts of many researchers in the field of mechanics.

The German Research Council (DFG) decided 1987 to establish a nationwide five year research project devoted to dynamics of multibody systems. In this project universities and research centers cooperated with the goal to develop a general pur pose multibody system software package. This concept provides the opportunity to use a modular structure of the software, i.e. different multibody formalisms may be combined with different simulation programmes via standardized interfaces. For the DFG project the database RSYST was chosen using standard FORTRAN 77 and an object oriented multibody system datamodel was defined. The project included • research on the fundamentals of the method of multibody systems, • concepts for new formalisms of dynamical analysis, • development of efficient numerical algorithms and • realization of a powerful software package of multibody systems. These goals required an interdisciplinary cooperation between mathematics, compu ter science, mechanics, and control theory. ix X After a rigorous reviewing process the following research institutions participated in the project (under the responsibility of leading scientists): Technical University of Aachen (Prof. G. Sedlacek) Technical University of Darmstadt (Prof. P. Hagedorn) University of Duisburg M. Hiller) (Prof.

The important interaction between modeling and solution techniques is demonstrated by using a simplified multibody model of a truck thoughout the book to illustrate all key concepts.

Dynamics of Multibody Systems, 3rd Edition, first published in 2005, introduces multibody dynamics, with an emphasis on flexible body dynamics. Many common mechanisms such as automobiles, space structures, robots and micromachines have mechanical and structural systems that consist of interconnected rigid and deformable components. The dynamics of these large-scale, multibody systems are highly nonlinear, presenting complex problems that in most cases can only be solved with computer-based techniques. The book begins with a review of the basic ideas of kinematics and the dynamics of rigid and deformable bodies before moving on to more advanced topics and computer implementation. This revised third edition now includes important developments relating to the problem of large deformations and numerical algorithms as applied to flexible multibody systems. The book's wealth of examples and practical applications will be useful to graduate students, researchers, and practising engineers working on a wide variety of flexible multibody systems.