Inertia Properties and Representations in Mechanical Systems

Abstract

In Mechanics the core issue is the representation of forces. The concept of inertia is central in such definition. In finite degree-of-freedom dynamics models of a mechanical system inertia is generally represented based on the gradients of the kinetic energy function in terms of the selected generalized velocities. This selection of variables gives the parameterization of the system and allows one to gain insight into the nature of the behaviour and functioning of the system. A certain operation or interaction in a system can be characterized by selecting the proper parameterization. This also gives rise to the possibility to define effective inertia concepts that are particularly important to understand a function or an operation within a system. In this paper we present novel forms and concepts of effective inertia.