Contact Model Between Superelements in Dynamic Multibody Systems

In this paper, a new contact formulation defined between flexible bodies modeled as superelements is investigated. Unlike rigid contact models, this approach enables to study the deformation and vibration phenomena induced by hard contacts. Compared with full-scale finite element models of flexible bodies, the proposed method is computationally more efficient, especially in case of a large number of bodies and contact conditions. The compliance of each body is described using a reduced-order elastic model which is defined in a corotational frame that follows the gross motion of the body. The basis used to reduce the initial finite element model relies on the Craig-Bampton method which uses both static boundary modes and internal vibration modes. The formulation of the contact condition couples all degrees of freedom of the reduced model in a nonlinear way. The relevance of the approach is demonstrated by simulation results first on a simple example, and then on a gear pair model.

Model and Stability Analysis of a Flexible Bladed Rotor

This paper presents a fully bladed flexible rotor and outlines the associated stability analysis. From an energetic approach based on the complete energies and potentials for Euler-Bernoulli beams, a system of equations is derived, in the rotational frame, for the rotor. This later one is made of a hollow shaft modelled by an Euler-Bernoulli beam supported by a set of bearings. It is connected to a rigid disk having a rotational inertia. A full set of flexible blades is also modelled by Euler-Bernoulli beams clamped in the disk. The flexural vibrations of the blades as well as those of the shaft are considered. The evolution of the eigenvalues of this rotor, in the corotational frame, is studied. A stability detection method, bringing coalescence and loci separation phenomena to the fore, in case of an asymmetric rotor, is undertaken in order to determine a parametric domain where turbomachinery cannot encounter damage. Finally, extensive parametric studies including the length and the stagger angle of the blades as well as their flexibility are presented in order to obtain robust criteria for stable and unstable areas prediction.

Computational strategies for flexible multibody systems

The status and some recent developments in computational modeling of flexible multibody systems are summarized. Discussion focuses on a number of aspects of flexible multibody dynamics including: modeling of the flexible components, constraint modeling, solution techniques, control strategies, coupled problems, design, and experimental studies. The characteristics of the three types of reference frames used in modeling flexible multibody systems, namely, floating frame, corotational frame, and inertial frame, are compared. Future directions of research are identified. These include new applications such as micro- and nano-mechanical systems; techniques and strategies for increasing the fidelity and computational efficiency of the models; and tools that can improve the design process of flexible multibody systems. This review article cites 877 references.