Sensitivity analysis approach to multibody systems described by natural coordinates

The classical natural coordinate modeling method which removes the Euler angles and Euler parameters from the governing equations is particularly suitable for the sensitivity analysis and optimization of multibody systems. However, the formulation has so many principles in choosing the generalized coordinates that it hinders the implementation of modeling automation, A first order direct sensitivity analysis approach to multibody systems formulated with novel natural coordinates is presented. Firstly, a new selection method for natural coordinate is developed. The method introduces 12 coordinates to describe the position and orientation of a spatial object. On the basis of the proposed natural coordinates, rigid constraint conditions, the basic constraint elements as well as the initial conditions for the governing equations are derived. Considering the characteristics of the governing equations, the newly proposed generalized-ct integration method is used and the corresponding algorithm flowchart is discussed. The objective function, the detailed analysis process of first order direct sensitivity analysis and related solving strategy are provided based on the previous modeling system Finally, in order to verify the validity and accuracy of the method presented, the sensitivity analysis of a planar spinner-slider mechanism and a spatial crank-slider mechanism are conducted. The test results agree well with that of the finite difference method, and the maximum absolute deviation of the results is less than 3%. The proposed approach is not only convenient for automatic modeling, but also helpful for the reduction of the complexity of sensitivity analysis, which provides a practical and effective way to obtain sensitivity for the optimization problems of multibody systems.     

多体系统理论在机构运动分析中的应用

本文将多体系统理论用于机构的运动分析,理论分析和计算实例表明：多体系统理论用于机构的运动分析是行之有效的。     

Fuzzy-small degrees of freedom representation of linear and angular variations in mechanical assemblies for tolerance analysis and allocation

Tolerances naturally generate an uncertain environment for design and manufacturing. In this paper, a novel fuzzy based tolerance representation approach for modeling the variations of geometric features due to dimensional tolerances is presented. The two concepts of fuzzy theory and small degrees of freedom are combined to introduce the fuzzy-small degrees of freedom model (F-SDOF). This model is suitable for tolerance analysis of mechanical assemblies with linear and angular tolerances. Based on the fuzzy concept, a new index (called the assemblability index) is introduced which signifies the fitting quality of parts in the assembly. Graphical and numerical representations of tolerance allocation by this method are presented. The goal of tolerance allocation is to adjust the tolerances assigned at the design stage so as to meet a functional requirement at the assembly stage. The presented method is compatible with the current dimensioning and tolerancing standards. The application of the proposed methodology is illustrated through presenting an example problem.     

Effect of manufacturing tolerances on dynamic equilibria of multibody systems undergoing prescribed rotational motion

A general formulation is developed for the tolerance analysis of dynamic equilibria in a multibody system undergoing prescribed rotational motion, with applications including robots, spacecraft, propulsion and power generation systems, and sensors and actuators. In a state of dynamic equilibrium, a subset of the generalized coordinates assumes constant values while the remaining coordinates vary and respond in time. Manufacturing tolerances can be mathematically represented by probabilistic distributions or statistical variables through either an analytical approach or a Monte Carlo simulation. In the present tolerance work, the tolerances of design parameters including lengths, stiffnesses, inertias, and attachment positions are examined. In order to analytically calculate the statistical response of the dynamic equilibrium positions to such tolerances, the first-order sensitivities of the equilibria with respect to parameters are calculated. To illustrate the method’s accuracy and computational efficiency, two numerical examples are considered, and the statistical results obtained analytically for the equilibria are compared with those calculated through Monte Carlo simulation. In some cases, an equilibrium configuration can have an operating condition for which the response has zero standard deviation to perturbations of a design parameter. That condition can be a useful design point to the extent that typical manufacturing tolerances or other sources of variation would have no effect on the dynamic equilibrium configuration.     

Joint coordinate method for analysis and design of multibody systems: Part 1. System equations

This paper presents a method, known as the joint coordinate method, for the computer aided design process of multibody systems. The relationship between joint and absolute velocities is described by a linear velocity transformation matrix representing the system kinematics. Joint coordinate method can generate a minimal set of equations of motion in terms of the generalized joint accelerations. This method can also yield reaction and actuator forces acting at the kinematic joints that are necessary for forward and inverse dynamics analyses. Applications of this method to static equilibrium and design sensitivity analyses are also studied. Comparisons between the absolute and joint coordinate formulations are given in terms of their computational efficiency.     

Steady-state equilibrium analysis of a multibody system driven by constant generalized speeds

A formulation which seeks steady-state equilibrium positions of constrained multibody systems driven by constant generalized speeds is presented in this paper. Since the relative coordinates are employed, constraint equations at cut joints are incorporated into the formulation. To obtain the steady-state equilibrium position of a multibody system, nonlinear equations are derived and solved iteratively. The nonlinear equations consist of the force equilibrium equations and the kinematic constraint equations. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed formulation, two numerical examples are solved and the results are compared with those of a commercial program.     

Constraint embedding in kinematics and dynamics of hybrid manipulator systems

An approach to kinematics and dynamics based on kinematic influence coefficient matrices is proposed for applications to the analysis and control of motion controlled multibody systems, e.g., hybrid robotic manipulator systems. The scheme is unique in a sense that all the kinematic constraints are completely embedded into the formulations at the kinematics level and equation of motion of the system is obtained in a closed form with respect to the minimal set of independent joint coordinates. Furthermore, all kinematic and dynamic formulations are expressed compactly in the same format by using two special algebraic operators. This isomorphic formalism allows systematic transformations of kinematic and dynamic informations between different sets of coordinates in a purely algebraic way.     

Optimal tolerance allocation using a multiobjective particle swarm optimizer

Particle swarm optimizers are routinely utilized in engineering design problems, but much work remains to take advantage of their full potential in the combined areas of sensitivity analysis and tolerance synthesis. In this paper, a novel Pareto-based multiobjective formulation is proposed to enhance the operations of a particle swarm optimizer and systematically distribute tolerances among various components of a mechanical assembly. The enhanced algorithm relies on nonlinear sensitivity analysis and the statistical root sum squares model to simultaneously optimize product performance criteria, the manufacturing cost, and the stack-up tolerance. It is shown that the proposed algorithm can accomplish its optimization task by successfully shifting nominal values of design parameters instead of the expensive tightening of component tolerances. Several numerical experiments for optimal design of a stepped bar assembly were conducted, which highlight the advantages of the proposed methodology.     

多刚体系统运动学分析的自然坐标法及在悬架运动学分析中的应用

本文介绍了一种适用于计算机分析的多刚体系统运动学分析的自然坐标法。利用自然坐标描述多刚体系统时,只需要一些点和一些单位向量,刚体的约束方程和运动副的约束方程组成了多刚体系统的运动学约束方程。约束方程均为线性或二次方程,因此求解方便。文中利用该方法分析了Maepherson悬架的轮胎横向滑移量、主倾内倾角等与车轮上、下跳动距离的关系。     

多体系统动力学方程的基于离散零空间理论的Newmark积分算法

考虑到多体系统动力学方程的数值计算方法是系统动力学分析的基础,提出一种基于离散零空间理论的Newmark积分算法。应用Newmark积分框架对多体系统动力学方程在时域上进行离散,通过离散零空间矩阵消去动力学方程中的拉格朗日乘子项,建立离散的达朗贝尔动力学方程,采用局部结点参数化进一步获得降维的达朗贝尔动力学方程。以空间双摆为算例,数值结果表明:该算法能够在实现系统降维、提高计算效率的同时,进行有效的数值分析,约束违约很小。     

A hybrid method of artificial neural networks and simulated annealing in monitoring auto-correlated multi-attribute processes

In mechanical assemblies, individual components are placed together to deliver a certain function. The performance, quality, and cost of the mechanical assembly are significantly affected by its tolerances. Toleranced dimensions inherently generate an uncertain environment in a mechanical assembly. This paper presents a proper method for tolerance analysis of mechanical assemblies with asymmetric tolerances based on an uncertainty model. This mathematical approach is based on fuzzy logic and tolerance accumulation models such as worst-case and root-sum-square methods. A fuzzy-based tolerance representation is developed to model uncertainty of tolerance components in the mechanical assemblies. According to this scheme, toleranced components are described as fuzzy numbers with their membership functions constructed using the statistical distributions of manufactured variables. In this way, the uncertainty of assembly requirements and accumulation of tolerances are represented in the form of fuzzy number. In this paper, a new factor, the fuzzy factor, is introduced that helps converting the membership functions into fuzzy intervals that can be used for modal interval analysis. Equations for estimation of percent contributions of individual tolerances are introduced in terms of uncertainty parameter. These equations yield percent contributions of upper and lower bounds of independent variables (manufactured dimensions) on the upper and lower bounds of dependent variables (assembly dimensions). The proposed method is applied to an example, and its results are discussed.     

Joint coordinate method for analysis and design of multibody systems: Part 2. System topology

In Part 1 of this paper, the method of joint coordinate formulation for multibody dynamics was reviewed. The application of this method to forward and inverse dynamics, static equilibrium, and design sensitivity analyses was studied. In Part 2 of the paper, systematic procedures for constructing the necessary matrices for the joint coordinate formulation are discussed in detail. These matrices are; the primary and the secondary path matrices describing the topology of the system, the velocity transformation matrix, and the generalized inertia matrix. The procedures for constructing these matrices and other necessary elements for the joint coordinate formulation can easily be implemented in a computer program for analysis and design process.     

Modal analysis of constrained multibody systems undergoing constant accelerated motions

The modal characteristics of constrained multibody systems undergoing constant accelerated motions are investigated in this paper. Relative coordinates are employed to derive the equations of motion, which are generally nonlinear in terms of the coordinates. The dynamic equilibrium position of a constrained multibody system needs to be obtained from the nonlinear equations of motion, which are then linearized at the dynamic equilibrium position. The mass and the stiffness matrices for the modal analysis can be obtained from the linearized equations of motion. To verify the effectiveness and the accuracy of the proposed method, two numerical examples are solved and the results obtained by using the proposed method are compared with those obtained by analytical and other numerical methods. The proposed method is found to be accurate as well as effective in predicting the modal characteristics of constrained multibody systems undergoing constant accelerated motions.     

KINEMATICS AND ERROR ANALYSIS FOR MULTIBODY SYSTEM

ＫＩＮＥＭＡＴＩＣＳＡＮＤＥＲＲＯＲＡＮＡＬＹＳＩＳＦＯＲＭＵＬＴＩＢＯＤＹＳＹＳＴＥＭＷｕＨｏｎｇｔａｏ；ＬｉｕＹｏｕｗｕ；ＷａｎｇＳｈｕｘｉｎ；ＹｕｎＣｈａｏ；ＺｈａｎｇＱｉｎｇ；ＴｉａｎｊｉｎＵｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙＡｂｓｔｒａｃｔ：Ｉｎｔｈｉｓｐ...     

基于特征的公差表示方法与实现

公差的存储表示是公差分析和公差综合的基础 ,提出一种几何公差的计算机辅助表示方法。利用特征的几何公差结构块 ,建立各种公差带的空间表示函数 ,并计算其三维空间中相应自由度的允许变动量。通过图论方法给出公差图的形式化定义 ,设计公差图的数据结构 ,可实现零件公差的计算机存储表示。最后给出零件实例来验证所提出的方法。     

回转键合图法进行空间多体动力系统建模与仿真

为提高多能域耦合空间多体动力系统建模与仿真的效率及可靠性,提出了回转键合图法。阐述了建立空间多体系统键合图模型的一般方法及其动力学原理。基于回转键合图推导出便于计算机自动生成的系统状态方程及运动副约束反力方程的统一公式,克服了微分因果关系及非线性结型结构给系统自动建模与仿真所带来的代数困难。所述方法特别适合于多能域并存的系统,通过实例说明本文方法的有效性。     

A recursive algorithm for generating the equations of motion of spatial mechanical systems with application to the five-point suspension

In this paper, a recursive formulation for generating the equations of motion of spatial mechanical systems is presented. The rigid bodies are replaced by a dynamically equivalent constrained system of particles which avoids introducing any rotational coordinates. For the open-chain system, the equations of motion are generated recursively along the serial chains using the concepts of linear and angular momenta. Closed-chain systems are transformed to open-chain systems by cutting suitable kinematic joints and introducing cut-joint constraints. The formulation is used to carry out the dynamic analysis of multi-link five-point suspension. The results of the simulation demonstrate the generality and simplicity of the proposed dynamic formulation.     

Compatibility of tolerancing

Tolerances are assigned to a mechanical engineering design either on the basis of functional and/or manufacturing requirements (toleranced dimensions, geometrical tolerances) or on the basis of the general categories—fine, medium, coarse—of the international standards or the designer's knowledge and experience (untoleranced dimensions). Conventional dimensions of the currently applicable dimensioning rules and implicit dimensions, including those attributed to geometrical tolerances, thus create four groups of tolerances which may or may not be compatible. In addition, any tolerance compromise, however tedious and difficult, not achieved systematically may well lead to accuracies which cannot be produced by the available machine tools. In the paper, a systematic approach to the above problems is presented. A methodology is demonstrated for the verification of the tolerance compatibility and for the assignment of compatible, producible and cost optimum tolerances.     

Dynamics of the macpherson strut motor-vehicle suspension system in point and joint coordinates

In this paper the dynamic analysis of the Macpherson strut motor-vehicle suspension system is presented. The equations of motion are formulated using a two-step transformation. Initially, the equations of motion are derived for a dynamically equivalent constrained system of particles that replaces the rigid bodies by applying Newton’s second law. The equations of motion are then transformed to a reduced set in terms of the relative joint variables. Use of both Cartesian and joint variables produces an efficient set of equations without loss of generality. For open chains, this process automatically eliminates all of the non-working constraint forces and leads to an efficient solution and integration of the equations of motion. For closed loops, suitable joints should be cut and few cut-joints constraint equations should be included for each closed chain. The chosen suspension includes open and closed loops with quarter-car model. The results of the simulation indicate the simplicity and generality of the dynamic formulation.     

CAD系统中并行公差的建模方法

提出一种基于产品设计与制造、支持公差工程语义和并行公差的几何公差计算机辅助建模表示新方法。在CAD系统中，进行装配公差和零件制造公差建模，利用特征的几何公差结构块，求出各种公差带的空间表示函数，计算有关公差带在三维空间中相应自由度的允许变动量，为公差分析和综合提供实用的模型。用工程实例验证了所提出的方法。