Multibody Dynamics on Differentiable Manifolds

​Edward J. Haug (February 24, 2021). "Multibody Dynamics on Differentiable Manifolds." ASME. J. Comput. Nonlinear Dynam. April 2021; 16(4): 041003. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4049995
 

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​Topological and vector space attributes of Euclidean space are consolidated from the mathematical literature and employed to create a differentiable manifold structure for multibody kinematics and dynamics. A kinematic configuration space representation of admissible motion of a mechanical system provides the foundation for the development. Using vector space properties of Euclidean space and multivariable calculus, a tangent space kinematic parameterization is presented that establishes the regular configuration space of a multibody system as a differentiable manifold. Topological properties of Euclidean space show that this manifold is naturally partitioned into maximal, singularity free components of kinematic and dynamic functionality. A dynamic parameterization of the d’Alembert variational equation of multibody dynamics yields singularity free ordinary differential equations of system dynamics on these components, without introducing Lagrange multipliers. Solutions of the differential equations satisfy configuration, velocity, and acceleration constraint equations and the variational equations of dynamics; i.e., multibody kinematics and dynamics are embedded in these ordinary differential equations. Two examples, one planar and one spatial, are treated using the formulation presented. Solutions obtained are shown to satisfy all three forms of kinematic constraint to within specified error tolerances, using fourth order Runge-Kutta numerical integration methods.