Real-Time Explicit Flexible Multibody Dynamics Solver With Application to Virtual-Reality Based E-Learning

Author(s):  
Tamer M. Wasfy ◽  
Hatem M. Wasfy ◽  
Jeanne M. Peters

A flexible multibody dynamics explicit time-integration parallel solver suitable for real-time virtual-reality applications is presented. The hierarchical “scene-graph” representation of the model used for display and user-interaction with the model is also used in the solver. The multibody system includes rigid bodies, flexible bodies, joints, frictional contact constraints, actuators and prescribed motion constraints. The rigid bodies rotational equations of motion are written in a body-fixed frame with the total rigid body rotation matrix updated each time step using incremental rotations. Flexible bodies are modeled using total-Lagrangian spring, truss, beam and hexahedral finite elements. The motion of the elements is referred to a global inertial Cartesian reference frame. A penalty technique is used to impose joint/contact constraints. An asperity-based friction model is used to model joint/contact friction. A bounding box binary tree contact search algorithm is used to allow fast contact detection between finite elements and other elements as well as general triangular/quadrilateral rigid-body surfaces. The real-time solver is used to model virtual-reality based experiments (including mass-spring systems, pendulums, pulley-rope-mass systems, billiards, air-hockey and a solar system) for a freshman university physics e-learning course.

Author(s):  
Peter Betsch ◽  
Nicolas Sa¨nger

A uniform framework for rigid body dynamics and nonlinear structural dynamics is presented. The advocated approach is based on a rotationless formulation of rigid bodies, nonlinear beams and shells. In this connection, the specific kinematic assumptions are taken into account by the explicit incorporation of holonomic constraints. This approach facilitates the straightforward extension to flexible multibody dynamics by including additional constraints due to the interconnection of rigid and flexible bodies. We further address the design of energy-momentum schemes for the stable numerical integration of the underlying finite-dimensional mechanical systems.


Author(s):  
Theodore G. Mordfin ◽  
Sivakumar S. K. Tadikonda

Abstract Guidelines are sought for generating component body models for use in controlled, articulated, flexible multibody dynamics system simulations. In support of this effort, exact truth models and linearized large-articulation models are developed in a companion paper. The purpose of the truth models is to aid in evaluating the use of various types of component body assumed modes in the large-articulation models. The assumed mode models are analytically evaluated from the perspectives of both structural dynamics and multibody dynamics. In this paper, component body assumed modes are tested in a linearized large-articulation model. The numerical behavior of the model and its performance in the presence of parameter variation is investigated and explained. The results show that high accuracy, high simulation efficiency, and numerical robustness cannot be simultaneously achieved. However, in many cases, satisfactory levels of all three are achievable. Guidelines are proposed for modeling the flexible bodies in controlled-articulation flexible multibody dynamic systems.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Kellomäki

Simulating large amounts of water in real time is often achieved using heightfield methods. Allowing the water to interact with rigid bodies is essential for applications such as games, but traditional heightfield interaction methods concentrate on water-to-body effects by letting water flow through the bodies. We instead take an approach where the bodies block water. Our earlier method is improved in several ways, taking steps toward a single method to create both water-to-body and body-to-water effects. The new method is also visually compared to a traditional method by Thürey et al. A drawback of our method is that it has some grid aliasing artifacts that appear especially when the method is used for floating bodies. However, our method is demonstrated to work together with the Thürey method, which allows us to get the best of both worlds to simulate both floating and blocking bodies in a single scene. The method runs in real time for large areas of water even with a very limited GPU budget.


2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 422-433
Author(s):  
Javier CUADRADO ◽  
Urbano LUGRÍS ◽  
Daniel DOPICO ◽  
Manuel GONZÁLEZ

Author(s):  
D. S. Bae ◽  
J. M. Han ◽  
J. H. Choi

Abstract A convenient implementation method for constrained flexible multibody dynamics is presented by introducing virtual rigid body and joint. The general purpose program for rigid and flexible multibody dynamics consists of three major parts of a set of inertia modules, a set of force modules, and a set of joint modules. Whenever a new force or joint module is added to the general purpose program, the modules for the rigid body dynamics are not reusable for the flexible body dynamics. Consequently, the corresponding modules for the flexible body dynamics must be formulated and programmed again. Since the flexible body dynamics handles more degrees of freedom than the rigid body dynamics does, implementation of the module is generally complicated and prone to coding mistakes. In order to overcome these difficulties, a virtual rigid body is introduced at every joint and force reference frames. New kinematic admissibility conditions are imposed on two body reference frames of the virtual and original bodies by introducing a virtual flexible body joint. There are some computational overheads due to the additional bodies and joints. However, since computation time is mainly depended on the frequency of flexible body dynamics, the computational overhead of the presented method could not be a critical problem, while implementation convenience is dramatically improved.


Author(s):  
R. S. Hwang ◽  
E. J. Haug

Abstract Formulations of translational kinematic constraints between flexible bodies are developed to model deformatioin of flexible surfaces that move relative to one another. Three types of flexible translational articulated joints are presented The joint formulations are illustrated in analysis of prototype systems with translational joints. Global deformation modes and substructure local deformation modes are used and compared in numerical examples.


2005 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Langlois ◽  
R. J. Anderson

A classical planar problem in forward flexible multibody dynamics is thoroughly investigated. The system consists of a damped flexible beam cantilevered to a rigid translating cart. The problem is solved using three distinctly different conventional approaches presented in roughly the chronological order in which they have been applied to flexible dynamic systems. First, a modal superposition formulation based on Bernoulli-Euler beam theory is developed. Second, an alternative solution is developed drawing exclusively on methods for rigid body dynamics combined with a knowledge of the theoretical modal behaviour of continuous beams. Third, a formulation based on the conventional finite element method using four-degree-of-freedom planar beam elements is adapted to include the rigid body motion of the cart. The relative merits of the three formulations are discussed and numerical simulation results generated using each of the three formulations are compared with each other and with a solution from a general-purpose flexible multibody dynamics formulation that is briefly outlined. The relative accuracy and efficiency of the methods and the challenges associated with generalizing each formulation are discussed.


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