A continuous force model for the impact analysis of flexible multibody systems

A new continuous impact model applicable to multibody systems consisting of interconnected rigid and flexible bodies is presented. The continuous impulsive force that acts during the short-lived interval of impact is written in terms of the relative displacement and velocity of the impacting bodies. In the method developed in this paper, the material compliance and damping coefficients are determined from energy balance relations. In order to account for the kinematic constraints between the two impacting bodies and other bodies in the system, an effective mass compensation is proposed. Flexible bodies in the system are discretized using the finite element methods. The generalized impulsive forces associated with the system generalized coordinates are then derived using the virtual work and are written in terms of a coupled set of reference and modal elastic coordinates. Numerical examples are presented in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the mathematical model developed in this paper.