A Substructure Technique for Dynamics of Flexible Mechanical Systems With Contact-Impact

Abstract

A substructure synthesis method is proposed to account for contact-impact effects in flexible components of mechanical systems. Components that may come into contact are divided into substructures, on each of which local deformation modes are defined to describe deformation fields of components. Constraint modes and fixed interface normal modes are used to account for elastic deformation within each substructure. A constraint addition-deletion technqiue is used to determine when contact occurs, account for the effect of contact constraints during the period of contact, and delete constraints after the completion of the contact event. Lagrange multipliers associated with the contact constraints, which represent contact forces, are used to determine the time of separation of contacting nodes. Use of the method is illustrated for longitudinal and transverse impact of elastic bars.