981 research outputs found
Recursive dynamics for flexible multibody systems using spatial operators
Due to their structural flexibility, spacecraft and space manipulators are multibody systems with complex dynamics and possess a large number of degrees of freedom. Here the spatial operator algebra methodology is used to develop a new dynamics formulation and spatially recursive algorithms for such flexible multibody systems. A key feature of the formulation is that the operator description of the flexible system dynamics is identical in form to the corresponding operator description of the dynamics of rigid multibody systems. A significant advantage of this unifying approach is that it allows ideas and techniques for rigid multibody systems to be easily applied to flexible multibody systems. The algorithms use standard finite-element and assumed modes models for the individual body deformation. A Newton-Euler Operator Factorization of the mass matrix of the multibody system is first developed. It forms the basis for recursive algorithms such as for the inverse dynamics, the computation of the mass matrix, and the composite body forward dynamics for the system. Subsequently, an alternative Innovations Operator Factorization of the mass matrix, each of whose factors is invertible, is developed. It leads to an operator expression for the inverse of the mass matrix, and forms the basis for the recursive articulated body forward dynamics algorithm for the flexible multibody system. For simplicity, most of the development here focuses on serial chain multibody systems. However, extensions of the algorithms to general topology flexible multibody systems are described. While the computational cost of the algorithms depends on factors such as the topology and the amount of flexibility in the multibody system, in general, it appears that in contrast to the rigid multibody case, the articulated body forward dynamics algorithm is the more efficient algorithm for flexible multibody systems containing even a small number of flexible bodies. The variety of algorithms described here permits a user to choose the algorithm which is optimal for the multibody system at hand. The availability of a number of algorithms is even more important for real-time applications, where implementation on parallel processors or custom computing hardware is often necessary to maximize speed
Universality Class of Confining Strings
A recently proposed model of confining strings has a non-local world-sheet
action induced by a space-time Kalb-Ramond tensor field. Here we show that, in
the large-D approximation, an infinite set of ghost- and tachyon-free
truncations of the derivative expansion of this action all lead to c=1 models.
Their infrared limit describes smooth strings with world-sheets of Hausdorff
dimension D_H=2 and long-range orientational order, as expected for QCD
strings.Comment: 11 pages, harvma
Time-parallel iterative solvers for parabolic evolution equations
We present original time-parallel algorithms for the solution of the implicit
Euler discretization of general linear parabolic evolution equations with
time-dependent self-adjoint spatial operators. Motivated by the inf-sup theory
of parabolic problems, we show that the standard nonsymmetric time-global
system can be equivalently reformulated as an original symmetric saddle-point
system that remains inf-sup stable with respect to the same natural parabolic
norms. We then propose and analyse an efficient and readily implementable
parallel-in-time preconditioner to be used with an inexact Uzawa method. The
proposed preconditioner is non-intrusive and easy to implement in practice, and
also features the key theoretical advantages of robust spectral bounds, leading
to convergence rates that are independent of the number of time-steps, final
time, or spatial mesh sizes, and also a theoretical parallel complexity that
grows only logarithmically with respect to the number of time-steps. Numerical
experiments with large-scale parallel computations show the effectiveness of
the method, along with its good weak and strong scaling properties
Microscopic Aspects of Stretched Exponential Relaxation (SER) in Homogeneous Molecular and Network Glasses and Polymers
Because the theory of SER is still a work in progress, the phenomenon itself
can be said to be the oldest unsolved problem in science, as it started with
Kohlrausch in 1847. Many electrical and optical phenomena exhibit SER with
probe relaxation I(t) ~ exp[-(t/{\tau}){\beta}], with 0 < {\beta} < 1. Here
{\tau} is a material-sensitive parameter, useful for discussing chemical
trends. The "shape" parameter {\beta} is dimensionless and plays the role of a
non-equilibrium scaling exponent; its value, especially in glasses, is both
practically useful and theoretically significant. The mathematical complexity
of SER is such that rigorous derivations of this peculiar function were not
achieved until the 1970's. The focus of much of the 1970's pioneering work was
spatial relaxation of electronic charge, but SER is a universal phenomenon, and
today atomic and molecular relaxation of glasses and deeply supercooled liquids
provide the most reliable data. As the data base grew, the need for a
quantitative theory increased; this need was finally met by the
diffusion-to-traps topological model, which yields a remarkably simple
expression for the shape parameter {\beta}, given by d*/(d* + 2). At first
sight this expression appears to be identical to d/(d + 2), where d is the
actual spatial dimensionality, as originally derived. The original model,
however, failed to explain much of the data base. Here the theme of earlier
reviews, based on the observation that in the presence of short-range forces
only d* = d = 3 is the actual spatial dimensionality, while for mixed short-
and long-range forces, d* = fd = d/2, is applied to four new spectacular
examples, where it turns out that SER is useful not only for purposes of
quality control, but also for defining what is meant by a glass in novel
contexts. (Please see full abstract in main text
Topology optimization of nonlinear periodically microstructured materials for tailored homogenized constitutive properties
A topology optimization method is presented for the design of periodic
microstructured materials with prescribed homogenized nonlinear constitutive
properties over finite strain ranges. The mechanical model assumes linear
elastic isotropic materials, geometric nonlinearity at finite strain, and a
quasi-static response. The optimization problem is solved by a nonlinear
programming method and the sensitivities computed via the adjoint method.
Two-dimensional structures identified using this optimization method are
additively manufactured and their uniaxial tensile strain response compared
with the numerically predicted behavior. The optimization approach herein
enables the design and development of lattice-like materials with prescribed
nonlinear effective properties, for use in myriad potential applications,
ranging from stress wave and vibration mitigation to soft robotics
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