Abstract
Many engineering fields such as aerospace, robotics, and computer graphics, have applications that contain elements amenable to be modeled as slender beams with negligible shear and torsion effects. The literature contains several energy-momentum (EM) formulations for beams based on a nonlinear finite element approach but, to the best of the author’s knowledge, there are not such developments for the finite segment or lumped approach. This work proposes an energy-conserving and symmetry-preserving extension of one of these models recently proposed in the literature; this extension constitutes the main contribution of the paper. The configuration is described by a rotation-free parameterization consisting in inertial Cartesian coordinates of a collection of nodes that defines a chain of articulated truss members. The axial response is derived by from a nonlinear hyperelastic potential and the bending stiffness is represented by another potential defined on overlapped sets composed of two consecutive trusses. The fact that both effects are defined by discrete potentials has an important impact on the simplicity of the EM formulation. The resulting time-integration scheme produces an approximated solution where total mechanical discrete energy and symmetries are exactly preserved, and the numerical stability is enhanced compared to implicit standard methods. Some numerical experiments illustrate the performance of the presented formulation, including some results of well-established beam models from popular commercial software with standard integration.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bauchau, O.A., Han, S., Mikkola, A., Matikainen, M.: Comparison of the absolute nodal coordinate and geometrically exact formulations for beams. Multibody Syst. Dyn. 32(1), 67–85 (2014)
Brenan, K.E., Campbell, S.L., Petzold, L.R.: Numerical Solution of Initial-Value Problems in Differential-Algebraic Equations. SIAM, Philadelphia (1989)
Chorin, A.J., Hughes, T.J.R., McCracken, M.F., Marsden, J.E.: Product formulas and numerical algorithms. Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 31, 205–256 (1978)
Crisfield, M.A., Jelenic, G.: An invariant energy-momentum conserving procedure for dynamics of 3d beams. In: Computational Mechanics, New Trends and Applications (1998)
Crisfield, M.A., Moita, G.F.: A unified co-rotational framework for solids, shells and beams. Int. J. Numer. Methods Biomed. Eng. 33(20–22), 2969–2992 (1996)
Escalona, J.L., Hussien, H.A., Shabana, A.A.: Application of the absolute nodal coordinate formulation to multibody system dynamics. J. Sound Vib. 214(5), 833–851 (1998)
ABAQUS UNIFIED FEA: Dassault systèmes (2019). https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/
Orden, J.C.G.: Dinámica no lineal de sistemas multicuerpo flexibles mediante algoritmos conservativos. PhD thesis, ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Madrid, Spain (1999)
Orden, J.C.G., Cuenca Queipo, J.: A simple shear- and torsion-free beam model for multibody dynamics. J. Comput. Nonlinear Dyn. 12(5), 1–8 (2017). 03
González, O.: Design and analysis of conserving integrators for nonlinear Hamiltonian systems with symmetry. PhD thesis, Stanford University Department of Mechanical Engineering (1996)
González, O.: Time integration and discrete Hamiltonian systems. J. Nonlinear Sci. 6, 449–467 (1996)
Hairer, E., Lubich, C., Wanner, G.: Geometric Numerical Integration. Springer Series in Computational Mathematics. Springer, Berlin (2002)
Han, S., Bauchau, O.A.: Nonlinear three-dimensional beam theory for flexible multibody dynamics. Multibody Syst. Dyn. 34(3), 211–242 (2015)
Hilber, H.M., Hughes, T.J.R., Taylor, R.L.T.: Improved numerical dissipation for time integration algorithms in structural dynamics. Earthq. Eng. Struct. Dyn. 5, 283–292 (1977)
Ibrahimbegovic, A., Mamouri, S., Taylor, R.L., Chen, A.J.: Finite element method in dynamics of flexible multibody systems: modeling of holonomic constraints and energy conserving integration schemes. Multibody Syst. Dyn. 4(2–3), 195–223 (2000)
Leyendecker, S., Betsch, P., Steinmann, P.: Objective energy-momentum conserving integration for the constrained dynamics of geometrically exact beams. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 195(19–22), 2313–2333 (2006)
Liu, J.Y., Hong, J.Z.: Geometric stiffening effect on rigid-flexible coupling dynamics of an elastic beam. J. Sound Vib. 278(4–5), 1147–1162 (2004)
Marsden, J.E., West, M.: Discrete mechanics and variational integrators. Acta Numer. 10, 357–514 (2001)
Mata, P.L., Barbat, A.H., Oller, S., Boroschek, R.: Inelastic Analysis of Geometrically Exact Rods. Monograph Series in Earthquake Engineering. CIMNE, Barcelona (2008)
Mayo, J., Domínguez, J.: Geometrically non-linear formulation of flexible multibody systems in terms of beam elements: geometric stiffness. Comput. Struct. 59(6), 1039–1050 (1996)
Omar, M.A., Shabana, A.A.: A two dimensional shear deformable beam for large rotation and deformation problems. J. Sound Vib. 243(3), 565–576 (2001)
Orden, J.C.G.: Energy and symmetry-preserving formulation of nonlinear constraints and potential forces in multibody dynamics. Nonlinear Dyn. 95, 823–837 (2019)
Romero, I.: A comparison of finite elements for nonlinear beams: the absolute nodal coordinate and geometrically exact formulations. Multibody Syst. Dyn. 20(1), 51–68 (2008)
Romero, I., Armero, F.: An objective finite element approximation of the kinematics of geometrically exact rods and its use in the formulation of an energy-momentum scheme in dynamics. Int. J. Numer. Methods Biomed. Eng. 54(12), 1683–1716 (2002)
Sadler, J.P.: On the analytical lumped-mass model of an elastic four bar mechanism. J. Eng. Ind. 97, 561–565 (1975)
Sadler, J.P., Sandor, G.N.: A lumped parameter approach to vibration and stress analysis of elastic linkages. J. Eng. Ind. 95, 549–557 (1973)
Sansour, C., Nguyen, T.L., Hjiaj, M.: An energy-momentum method for in-plane geometrically exact euler–bernoulli beam dynamics. Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 102, 99–134 (2015)
Shabana, A.A.: Finite element incremental approach and exact rigid body inertia. J. Mech. Des. 118(2), 06 (1996)
Shabana, A.A.: Computational Dynamics. Wiley, New York (2010)
Simo, J.C.: A finite strain beam formulation. The three-dimensional dynamic problem. Part I. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 49(1), 55–70 (1985)
Simó, J.C., Tarnow, N., Doblaré, M.: Non-linear dynamics of three-dimensional rods: exact energy and momentum conserving algorithms. Int. J. Numer. Methods Biomed. Eng. 38, 1431–1473 (1995)
Simó, J.C., Vu-Quoc, L.: On the dynamics of flexible beams under large overall motions-the planar case. J. Appl. Mech. 53, 849–863 (1986)
Simó, J.C., Vu-Quoc, L.: A three-dimensional finite-strain rod model. Part II: computational aspects. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 58, 79–116 (1986)
Simó, J.C., Vu-Quoc, L.: On the dynamics in space of rods undergoing large motions - a geometrically exact approach. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 66, 125–161 (1988)
Tian, Q., Zhang, Y., Chen, L., Flores, P.: Dynamics of spatial flexible multibody systems with clearance and lubricated spherical joints. Comput. Struct. 87(13–14), 913–929 (2009)
Wang, Y., Huston, R.L.: A lumped parameter method in the nonlinear analysis of flexible multibody systems. Comput. Struct. 50(3), 421–432 (1994)
Wittbrodt, E., Adamiec-Wójcik, I., Wojciech, S.: Dynamics of Flexible Multibody Systems. Rigid Finite Element Method. Springer, Berlin (2006)
Zhou, Y.X., Sze, K.Y.: A rotation-free beam element for beam and cable analyses. Finite Elem. Anal. Des. 64, 79–89 (2013)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendices
Appendix A: Orthogonality property I
Given the momentum vector \({\mathbf{p}}\) and the \(3\times 3M\) matrix defined in (15), the following relation holds:
In order to prove it, let us expand (27) using (14) as
On the other hand, velocity \(\dot{\mathbf{q}}=(\dot{\mathbf{r}}_{1} \ \dot{\mathbf{r}}_{2} \ ... \dot{\mathbf{r}}_{N})^{ \mathrm{T}}\) and momentum \(\dot{\mathbf{p}}\) vectors are related by the mass matrix as \(\dot{\mathbf{q}}={\mathbf{M}}{\mathbf{p}}\). The particular expression of the mass matrix (10) allows us to obtain the relations among nodal velocities and momenta:
Finally, observe from (28) and (29)–(32) that the terms involving \({\mathbf{p}}_{i} \times {\mathbf{p}}_{j}\) naturally vanish for \(i=j\) and cancel within the sum for \(i\neq j\), proving Eq. (27). Note that this result stems from the particular structure in diagonal blocks of the mass matrix (10).
Appendix B: Orthogonality property II
Given the approximated momentum vector \({\mathbf{p}}_{n}\) at \(t_{n}\) and the \(3\times 3M\) matrix defined in Sect. 3, the following relation holds:
This result can be readily proved observing that the inverse of a matrix with a diagonal block structure such as the mass matrix (10) is another matrix with identical structure, such as
with coefficients \(m_{ij}=m_{ji}\). Dropping in (33) the subscript \(n\) in order to simplify the notation, the following sum is obtained:
which is null, since terms involving \({\mathbf{p}}_{i} \times {\mathbf{p}}_{j}\) naturally vanish for \(i=j\) and cancel within the sum for \(i\neq j\), proving Eq. (33).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
García Orden, J.C. A conserving formulation of a simple shear- and torsion-free beam for multibody applications. Multibody Syst Dyn 51, 21–43 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11044-020-09754-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11044-020-09754-w