scholarly journals Dynamic Response Optimization of Complex Multibody Systems in a Penalty Formulation Using Adjoint Sensitivity

Author(s):  
Yitao Zhu ◽  
Daniel Dopico ◽  
Corina Sandu ◽  
Adrian Sandu

Multibody dynamics simulations are currently widely accepted as valuable means for dynamic performance analysis of mechanical systems. The evolution of theoretical and computational aspects of the multibody dynamics discipline makes it conducive these days for other types of applications, in addition to pure simulations. One very important such application is design optimization for multibody systems. In this paper, we focus on gradient-based optimization in order to find local minima. Gradients are calculated efficiently via adjoint sensitivity analysis techniques. Current approaches have limitations in terms of efficiently performing sensitivity analysis for complex systems with respect to multiple design parameters. To improve the state of the art, the adjoint sensitivity approach of multibody systems in the context of the penalty formulation is developed in this study. The new theory developed is then demonstrated on one academic case study, a five-bar mechanism, and on one real-life system, a 14 degree of freedom (DOF) vehicle model. The five-bar mechanism is used to validate the sensitivity approach derived in this paper. The full vehicle model is used to demonstrate the capability of the new approach developed to perform sensitivity analysis and optimization for large and complex multibody systems with respect to multiple design parameters with high efficiency.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adwait Verulkar ◽  
Corina Sandu ◽  
Daniel Dopico ◽  
Adrian Sandu

Abstract Sensitivity analysis is one of the most prominent gradient based optimization techniques for mechanical systems. Model sensitivities are the derivatives of the generalized coordinates defining the motion of the system in time with respect to the system design parameters. These sensitivities can be calculated using finite differences, but the accuracy and computational inefficiency of this method limits its use. Hence, the methodologies of direct and adjoint sensitivity analysis have gained prominence. Recent research has presented computationally efficient methodologies for both direct and adjoint sensitivity analysis of complex multibody dynamic systems. The contribution of this article is in the development of the mathematical framework for conducting the direct sensitivity analysis of multibody dynamic systems with joint friction using the index-1 formulation. For modeling friction in multibody systems, the Brown and McPhee friction model has been used. This model incorporates the effects of both static and dynamic friction on the model dynamics. A case study has been conducted on a spatial slider-crank mechanism to illustrate the application of this methodology to real-world systems. Using computer models, with and without joint friction, effect of friction on the dynamics and model sensitivities has been demonstrated. The sensitivities of slider velocity have been computed with respect to the design parameters of crank length, rod length, and the parameters defining the friction model. Due to the highly non-linear nature of friction, the model dynamics are more sensitive during the transition phases, where the friction coefficient changes from static to dynamic and vice versa.


Author(s):  
Daniel Dopico ◽  
Yitao Zhu ◽  
Adrian Sandu ◽  
Corina Sandu

Sensitivity analysis of multibody systems is essential for several applications, such as dynamics-based design optimization. Dynamic sensitivities, when needed, are often calculated by means of finite differences. This procedure is computationally expensive when the number of parameters is large, and numerical errors can severely limit its accuracy. This paper explores several analytical approaches to perform sensitivity analysis of multibody systems. Direct and adjoint sensitivity equations are developed in the context of Maggi's formulation of multibody dynamics equations. The approach can be generalized to other formulations of multibody dynamics as systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The sensitivity equations are validated numerically against the third party code fatode and against finite difference solutions with real and complex perturbations.


Author(s):  
Yitao Zhu ◽  
Daniel Dopico ◽  
Corina Sandu ◽  
Adrian Sandu

This paper introduces MBSVT (Multibody Systems at Virginia Tech), as a software library for the kinematic and dynamic simulation of multibody systems, with forward kinematics and dynamics, direct and adjoint sensitivity analysis, and optimization capabilities. The MBSVT software was developed in Fortran 2003 as a collection of Fortran modules and it was tested on several different platforms using multiple compilers. The kinematic library includes dot-1 constraint, revolute, spherical, Euler, and translational joints, as well as distance and coordinates driving constraints. The forward dynamics uses the penalty formulation to write the equations of motion and both explicit and implicit Runge-Kutta numerical integrators are implemented to integrate the equations. The library implements external forces, such as translational spring-damper-actuator, bump stop, linear normal contact, and basic tire force. Direct and adjoint sensitivity equations are implemented for the penalty formulation. The L-BFGS-B quasi-Newton optimization algorithm [1] is integrated with the library, to carry out the optimization tasks. MBSVT also provides a connection with Matlab by means of the Matlab engine. 3D rendering is available via the graphic library MBSVT-viz based on OpenSceneGraph. The collection of benchmark problems provided includes a crank-slider mechanism, 2D and 3D excavators models, a vehicle suspension, and full vehicle model. The distribution includes a Cmake list, gfortran make files, MSV2010 project files, and a collection of training problems. Detailed doxygen documentation for the MBSVT library is available in html and pdf formats.


Author(s):  
Alfonso Callejo ◽  
Daniel Dopico

Algorithms for the sensitivity analysis of multibody systems are quickly maturing as computational and software resources grow. Indeed, the area has made substantial progress since the first academic methods and examples were developed. Today, sensitivity analysis tools aimed at gradient-based design optimization are required to be as computationally efficient and scalable as possible. This paper presents extensive verification of one of the most popular sensitivity analysis techniques, namely the direct differentiation method (DDM). Usage of such method is recommended when the number of design parameters relative to the number of outputs is small and when the time integration algorithm is sensitive to accumulation errors. Verification is hereby accomplished through two radically different computational techniques, namely manual differentiation and automatic differentiation, which are used to compute the necessary partial derivatives. Experiments are conducted on an 18-degree-of-freedom, 366-dependent-coordinate bus model with realistic geometry and tire contact forces, which constitutes an unusually large system within general-purpose sensitivity analysis of multibody systems. The results are in good agreement; the manual technique provides shorter runtimes, whereas the automatic differentiation technique is easier to implement. The presented results highlight the potential of manual and automatic differentiation approaches within general-purpose simulation packages, and the importance of formulation benchmarking.


Author(s):  
Shilpa A. Vaze ◽  
Prakash Krishnaswami ◽  
James DeVault

Most state-of-the-art multibody systems are multidisciplinary and encompass a wide range of components from various domains such as electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, etc. The design considerations and design parameters of the system can come from any of these domains or from a combination of these domains. In order to perform analytical design sensitivity analysis on a multidisciplinary system (MDS), we first need a uniform modeling approach for this class of systems to obtain a unified mathematical model of the system. Based on this model, we can derive a unified formulation for design sensitivity analysis. In this paper, we present a modeling and design sensitivity formulation for MDS that has been successfully implemented in the MIXEDMODELS (Multidisciplinary Integrated eXtensible Engine for Driving Metamodeling, Optimization and DEsign of Large-scale Systems) platform. MIXEDMODELS is a unified analysis and design tool for MDS that is based on a procedural, symbolic-numeric architecture. This architecture allows any engineer to add components in his/her domain of expertise to the platform in a modular fashion. The symbolic engine in the MIXEDMODELS platform synthesizes the system governing equations as a unified set of non-linear differential-algebraic equations (DAE’s). These equations can then be differentiated with respect to design to obtain an additional set of DAE’s in the sensitivity coefficients of the system state variables with respect to the system’s design variables. This combined set of DAE’s can be solved numerically to obtain the solution for the state variables and state sensitivity coefficients of the system. Finally, knowing the system performance functions, we can calculate the design sensitivity coefficients of these performance functions by using the values of the state variables and state sensitivity coefficients obtained from the DAE’s. In this work we use the direct differentiation approach for sensitivity analysis, as opposed to the adjoint variable approach, for ease in error control and software implementation. The capabilities and performance of the proposed design sensitivity analysis formulation are demonstrated through a numerical example consisting of an AC rectified DC power supply driving a slider crank mechanism. In this case, the performance functions and design variables come from both electrical and mechanical domains. The results obtained were verified by perturbation analysis, and the method was shown to be very accurate and computationally viable.


2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 1342-1343
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Maghrabi ◽  
Mohamed Bakr ◽  
Shiva Kumar

A general nonlinear adjoint sensitivity analysis (ASA) approach for the time-dependent nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE) is presented. The proposed algorithm estimates the sensitivities of a desired objective function with respect to all design parameters using only one extra adjoint system simulation. The approach efficiency is shown here through a numerical example.


Author(s):  
Alfonso Callejo ◽  
Valentin Sonneville ◽  
Olivier A. Bauchau

The gradient-based design optimization of mechanical systems requires robust and efficient sensitivity analysis tools. The adjoint method is regarded as the most efficient semi-analytical method to evaluate sensitivity derivatives for problems involving numerous design parameters and relatively few objective functions. This paper presents a discrete version of the adjoint method based on the generalized-alpha time integration scheme, which is applied to the dynamic simulation of flexible multibody systems. Rather than using an ad hoc backward integration solver, the proposed approach leads to a straightforward algebraic procedure that provides design sensitivities evaluated to machine accuracy. The approach is based on an intrinsic representation of motion that does not require a global parameterization of rotation. Design parameters associated with rigid bodies, kinematic joints, and beam sectional properties are considered. Rigid and flexible mechanical systems are investigated to validate the proposed approach and demonstrate its accuracy, efficiency, and robustness.


Author(s):  
Kazunari Momose ◽  
Kaoru Ikejima ◽  
Hideshi Ishida ◽  
Genta Kawahara

An optimization system based on adjoint sensitivity analysis has been developed for heat transfer and fluid flow design, the objective of which is, for example, the maximization of local temperature or to achieve the target temperature distributions in specific regions by controlling the flow and thermal boundary conditions as the design parameters. Using the system, the sensitivities on whole boundary can be obtained by a couple of numerical computations of the conventional forward problem and the corresponding adjoint problem. Moreover, by combining with a commercial CFD software as a front end and with the steepest descent method as an optimizer, we show that the flow and thermal boundary conditions can automatically be optimized.


Author(s):  
Yitao Zhu ◽  
Daniel Dopico ◽  
Corina Sandu ◽  
Adrian Sandu

Vehicle dynamics simulation based on multibody dynamics techniques has become a powerful tool for vehicle systems analysis and design. As this approach evolves, more and more details are required to increase the accuracy of the simulations, to improve their efficiency, or to provide more information that will allow various types of analyses. One very important direction is the optimization of multibody systems. Sensitivity analysis of the dynamics of multibody systems is essential for design optimization. Dynamic sensitivities, when needed, are often calculated by means of finite differences but, depending of the number of parameters involved, this procedure can be very demanding in terms of time and the accuracy obtained can be very poor in many cases if real perturbations are used. In this paper, several ways to perform the sensitivity analysis of multibody systems are explored including the direct sensitivity approaches and the adjoint sensitivity ones. Finally, the techniques proposed are applied to the dynamical optimization of a five bar mechanism and a vehicle suspension system.


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