Formulation of a Path-Following Joint for Multibody System Dynamics

The development and validation of a new multibody joint that constrains a body to follow a spatial path and an orientation defined by a user is presented. The resulting joint has a single degree of freedom (DOF), and maintains equivalent kinematic behaviour when compared to higher-fidelity models. As such, it is referred to as a single-DOF equivalent kinematic (SEK) joint. The primary application of this joint is in the reduction of complex multibody systems, specifically vehicle suspensions. The first formulation of the joint is developed using the user interface of MapleSim. Starting with a planar particle joint, the theory is extended to a full 3D rigid body constraint. At each development stage, the joint is successfully validated against conventional models in both Adams and MapleSim. This formulation of the joint results in the kinematic pair being represented by a system of differential algebraic equations (DAEs) which is not the desired functionality, and so a second formulation is developed. By removing the constraint of using the MapleSim user interface, the formulation can be developed from first principles. Using the path-length as the coordinate for the joint, and the Frenet-Serret equations to compute the motion and reaction spaces, the kinematic pair can be represented by a single ordinary differential equation (ODE). The theory is implemented in the MapleSim source code using the symbolic computing language Maple. The theory of the SEK joint can be extended to create different joints. The first is the compliant SEK joint. In this version of the joint, the body is constrained to move along a spatial path using a simple linear bushing model. The compliant SEK joint is useful for modeling the suspension systems of passenger cars as bushings are used extensively in these systems to increase passenger comfort. The second extension is to add an additional DOF to the SEK joint to created the double-DOF equivalent kinematic (DEK) joint. The DEK joint is useful for modelling steered suspension systems as the steering introduces an additional DOF to the suspension. The envelope of motion for the steered wheel is a surface rather than a spatial line. Once the joints are successfully validated, three example applications of the joint are shown. In the first, rigid, compliant and steered suspension models are developed and compared against high-fidelity models in Adams/Car and MapleSim. Next, a full vehicle model is assembled using the suspension models and compared against an equivalent high-fidelity full vehicle model built in MapleSim. The comparisons show the accuracy of the SEK joint as well as the simulation speed improvements it can offer compared with conventional modelling techniques. The second example, from the domain of biomechanics, shows a knee model created using the SEK joint. Finally, a roller coaster model is created to demonstrate the flexibility of the path generation algorithm to create splines that represent complex paths

Multibody approach for railway dynamic analysis

In the work presented, a computational tool used for the dynamic simulation of railway vehicle systems was developed using multibody systems formulations. The model based on the multibody techniques developed by Shabana. With respect to other exciting methodologies the proposed one make use of a combined frame of references that permit the use of independent coordinates, with out the possibility to have singularity configurations depending on the rotation sequence. The combined frame of references used as a base for the formulation and modeling of wheel-rail contact problem with high precision. The program was designed for considering with a flexible form the different configuration of railway vehicles. The main structure of the program has the ability of making changes for enhancement of the wheel-rail contact model or the implementation of dynamic structure of the track, which considered to be future aspects for a PHD dissertation. The model used was applied to make a simulation for single bogie , also for a complete vehicle with two bogies. The obtained results of the dynamic response for a defined track composed of, tangent segment, transition curve which take the form of a clothoid curve, and finally circular curve with constant radius. The calculations were made for different velocities, lower than the critical in which the vehicle responded in stable form, and higher than the critical at which the instability of the vehicle was studied.Elsayed Abdel Hameed Amer Shaltout, R. (2010). Multibody approach for railway dynamic analysis. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/13763Archivo delegad

Clothoid-Based Three-Dimensional Curve for Attitude Planning

Interest in flying robots, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), has grown during last years in both military and civil fields [1, 2]. The same happens to autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) [3]. These vehicles, UAVs and AUVs, offer a wide variety of possible applications and challenges, such as control, guidance or navigation [2, 3]. In this sense, heading and attitude control in UAVs is very important [4], particularly relevant in airplanes (fixed-wing flying vehicles), because they are strongly non-linear, coupled, and tend to be underactuated systems with non-holonomic constraints. Hence, designing a good attitude controller is a difficult task [5, 6, 7, 8, 9], where stability must be taken into account by the controller [10]. Indeed, if the reference is too demanding for the controller or non-achievable because its dynamics is too fast, the vehicle might become unstable. In order to address this issue, autonomous navigation systems usually include a high-level path planner to generate smooth reference trajectories to be followed by the vehicle using a low-level controller. Usually a set of waypoints is given in GPS coordinates, normally from a map, in order to apply a smooth point-to-point control trajectory [11, 12]

Accelerated development and flight evaluation of active controls concepts for subsonic transport aircraft. Volume 1: Load alleviation/extended span development and flight tests

Active wing load alleviation to extend the wing span by 5.8 percent, giving a 3 percent reduction in cruise drag is covered. The active wing load alleviation used symmetric motions of the outboard ailerons for maneuver load control (MLC) and elastic mode suppression (EMS), and stabilizer motions for gust load alleviation (GLA). Slow maneuvers verified the MLC, and open and closed-loop flight frequency response tests verified the aircraft dynamic response to symmetric aileron and stabilizer drives as well as the active system performance. Flight tests in turbulence verified the effectiveness of the active controls in reducing gust-induced wing loads. It is concluded that active wing load alleviation/extended span is proven in the L-1011 and is ready for application to airline service; it is a very practical way to obtain the increased efficiency of a higher aspect ratio wing with minimum structural impact

A data-driven discrete elastic rod model for shells and solids

Les structures en forme de tige sont omniprésentes dans le monde aujourd'hui. Désormais, prédire avec précision leur comportement pour l'ingénierie et les environnements virtuels est indispensable pour de nombreuses industries, notamment l'infographie, l'animation par ordinateur et la conception informatique. Dans ce mémoire, nous explorons un nouveau modèle de calcul pour les tiges élastiques qui exploite les données de simulation pour reproduire les effets de coque et de solide présents dans les tiges qui brisent les hypothèses de la théorie classique de la tige de Kirchhoff, présentant ainsi une voie d'amélioration possible pour de nombreux états de l'art techniques. Notre approche consiste à prendre un ensemble de données de simulations à partir de solides volumétriques ou de coques pour former un nouveau modèle d'énergie définie positive polynomiale d'ordre élevé pour une tige élastique. Cette nouvelle énergie élargit la gamme des comportements des matériaux qui peuvent être modélisés pour la tige, permettant ainsi de capturer une plus large gamme de phénomènes. Afin de proposer et tester ce modèle, nous concevons un pipeline expérimental pour tester les limites de la théorie linéaire des tiges et étudier les géométries d'interface entre les cas coque à tige et volume à coque pour observer les effets d'un modèle de matériau non linéaire et une section transversale non elliptique dans la déformation de la tige. Nous étudions également la relation entre la courbure de la tige et la déformation de la section transversale et la courbure pour introduire une modification sur le terme de flexion de l'énergie. Cela nous permet de reproduire à la fois le comportement de flexion asymétrique présent dans les poutres volumétriques minces et les poutres à coque avec des sections transversales non convexes. Des suggestions pour de nouvelles améliorations des modèles et des techniques expérimentales sont également données.Rod-like structures are ubiquitous in the world today. Henceforth accurately predicting their behavior for engineering and virtual environments are indispensable for many industries including computer graphics, computer animation, and computational design. In this thesis we explore a new computational model for elastic rods that leverages simulation data to reproduce shell and solid-like effects present in rods that break the assumptions of the classical Kirchhoff rod theory, thus presenting a possible improvement avenue to many states-of-the-art techniques. Our approach consists of taking a data set of simulations from both volumetric solids or shells to train a novel high-order polynomial positive-definite energy model for an elastic rod. This new energy increases the range of material behaviors that can be modeled for the rod, thus allowing for a larger range of phenomena to be captured. In order to propose and test this model, we design an experimental pipeline to test the limits of the linear theory of rods and investigate the interface geometries between the Shell-Rod and Volume-Shell cases to observe the effects of a nonlinear material model and a non-elliptical cross-section in the rod deformation. We also investigate the relation between rod curvature and deformation of the cross-section and curvature to introduce a modification on the bending term of the energy. This allows us to reproduce both the asymmetric bending behavior present in thin volumetric solid and shell beams with non-convex cross-sections. Suggestions for further improvements in models and experimental techniques are also given

The Quaternion-Based Spatial Coordinate and Orientation Frame Alignment Problems

We review the general problem of finding a global rotation that transforms a given set of points and/or coordinate frames (the "test" data) into the best possible alignment with a corresponding set (the "reference" data). For 3D point data, this "orthogonal Procrustes problem" is often phrased in terms of minimizing a root-mean-square deviation or RMSD corresponding to a Euclidean distance measure relating the two sets of matched coordinates. We focus on quaternion eigensystem methods that have been exploited to solve this problem for at least five decades in several different bodies of scientific literature where they were discovered independently. While numerical methods for the eigenvalue solutions dominate much of this literature, it has long been realized that the quaternion-based RMSD optimization problem can also be solved using exact algebraic expressions based on the form of the quartic equation solution published by Cardano in 1545; we focus on these exact solutions to expose the structure of the entire eigensystem for the traditional 3D spatial alignment problem. We then explore the structure of the less-studied orientation data context, investigating how quaternion methods can be extended to solve the corresponding 3D quaternion orientation frame alignment (QFA) problem, noting the interesting equivalence of this problem to the rotation-averaging problem, which also has been the subject of independent literature threads. We conclude with a brief discussion of the combined 3D translation-orientation data alignment problem. Appendices are devoted to a tutorial on quaternion frames, a related quaternion technique for extracting quaternions from rotation matrices, and a review of quaternion rotation-averaging methods relevant to the orientation-frame alignment problem. Supplementary Material covers extensions of quaternion methods to the 4D problem.Comment: This replaces an early draft that lacked a number of important references to previous work. There are also additional graphics elements. The extensions to 4D data and additional details are worked out in the Supplementary Material appended to the main tex

Curve and surface framing for scientific visualization and domain dependent navigation

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Indiana University, Computer Science, 1996Curves and surfaces are two of the most fundamental types of objects in computer graphics. Most existing systems use only the 3D positions of the curves and surfaces, and the 3D normal directions of the surfaces, in the visualization process. In this dissertation, we attach moving coordinate frames to curves and surfaces, and explore several applications of these frames in computer graphics and scientific visualization. Curves in space are difficult to perceive and analyze, especially when they are densely clustered, as is typical in computational fluid dynamics and volume deformation applications. Coordinate frames are useful for exposing the similarities and differences between curves. They are also useful for constructing ribbons, tubes and smooth camera orientations along curves. In many 3D systems, users interactively move the camera around the objects with a mouse or other device. But all the camera control is done independently of the properties of the objects being viewed, as if the user is flying freely in space. This type of domain-independent navigation is frequently inappropriate in visualization applications and is sometimes quite difficult for the user to control. Another productive approach is to look at domain-specific constraints and thus to create a new class of navigation strategies. Based on attached frames on surfaces, we can constrain the camera gaze direction to be always parallel (or at a fixed angle) to the surface normal. Then users will get a feeling of driving on the object instead of flying through the space. The user's mental model of the environment being visualized can be greatly enhanced by the use of these constraints in the interactive interface. Many of our research ideas have been implemented in Mesh View, an interactive system for viewing and manipulating geometric objects. It contains a general purpose C++ library for nD geometry and supports a winged-edge based data structure. Dozens of examples of scientifically interesting surfaces have been constructed and included with the system

2011 IMSAloquium, Student Investigation Showcase

Inquiry Without Boundaries reflects our students’ infinite possibilities to explore their unique passions, develop new interests, and collaborate with experts around the globe.https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/archives_sir/1003/thumbnail.jp

14th Conference on Dynamical Systems Theory and Applications DSTA 2017 ABSTRACTS

From Preface: This is the fourteen time when the conference “Dynamical Systems – Theory and Applications” gathers a numerous group of outstanding scientists and engineers, who deal with widely understood problems of theoretical and applied dynamics. Organization of the conference would not have been possible without a great effort of the staff of the Department of Automation, Biomechanics and Mechatronics. The patronage over the conference has been taken by the Committee of Mechanics of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. It is a great pleasure that our invitation has been accepted by so many people, including good colleagues and friends as well as a large group of researchers and scientists, who decided to participate in the conference for the first time. With proud and satisfaction we welcome nearly 250 persons from 38 countries all over the world. They decided to share the results of their research and many years experiences in the discipline of dynamical systems by submitting many very interesting papers. This booklet contains a collection of 375 abstracts, which have gained the acceptance of referees and have been qualified for publication in the conference proceedings [...]