Continuous Null Space Method for Constrained Mechanical Systems

Abstract

The governing equations for multibody systems are, in general, formulated in the form of differential algebraic equations (DAEs) involving the Lagrange multipliers. It is desirable for efficient and accurate analysis to eliminate the Lagrange multipliers and dependent variables. As a method to solve the DAEs by eliminating the Lagrange multipliers, there is a method called the null space method. In this report, first, it is shown that using the null space matrix one can eliminate the Lagrange multipliers and reduce the number of velocities to that of the independent ones. Then, a new method to obtain the continuous null space matrix is presented. Finally, the presented method is applied to four-bar linkages.