Computing angular velocity in multibody systems

Abstract

This paper presents algorithms for computing the angular velocities of the bodies of a multibody system. A multibody system is any collection of connected bodies. The focus is upon multibody systems consisting of spherically pinned rigid bodies which do not form closed loops. Simple formulae are presented for computing the angular velocities. It is shown that once the angular velocities are known the entire kinematical description and hence, the dynamics of the system, may be developed routinely and in automated fashion. Extension to more general multibody systems follows without conceptual change in the procedures.

Citation

Huston, R.L. (1986), "Computing angular velocity in multibody systems", Engineering Computations, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 223-229. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb023660