Abstract
We investigate in this paper the different approaches that can be derived from the use of the Hamiltonian or canonical equations of motion for constrained mechanical systems with the intention of responding to the question of whether the use of these equations leads to more efficient and stable numerical algorithms than those coming from acceleration based formalisms. In this process, we propose a new penalty based canonical description of the equations of motion of constrained mechanical systems. This technique leads to a reduced set of first order ordinary differential equations in terms of the canonical variables with no Lagrange’s multipliers involved in the equations. This method shows a clear advantage over the previously proposed acceleration based formulation, in terms of numerical efficiency. In addition, we examine the use of the canonical equations based on independent coordinates, and conclude that in this second case the use of the acceleration based formulation is more advantageous than the canonical counterpart.
Numerical solution for consistent initial conditions of constrained mechanical systems
