Novel Method for Rigid and Flexible Multibody System Dynamics Simulation

In the paper novel generalized Newton–Euler equations are derived and applied for simulation of dynamics of rigid and flexible multibody systems. The procedures for working out the equations are described. The dynamic equations are expressed with respect to the quasi–velocities and accelerations. The equations proposed are applicable for flexible structures for which the mass reduction is implemented theoretically correctly on the basis of the equivalence of the kinetic energy. The equations are consistent with the commercially available software that realizes the finite element methods for deriving the dynamic equations of systems with mesh of rigid bodies, flexible elements and substructures. Several examples present the effectiveness of the method. It is shown that using the classical finite element mass-matrices and the method proposed for deriving the dynamic equations one could obtain precise results. Examples of deformations of long tethered satellite are presented.