Numerical simulation of nonholonomic rigid-body systems

Abstract

The paper proposes computer algebra system (CAS) algorithms for computer-assisted derivation of the equations of motion for systems of rigid bodies with holonomic and nonholonomic constraints that are linear with respect to the generalized velocities. The main advantages of using the D’Alembert-Lagrange principle for the CSA-based derivation of the equations of motion for nonholonomic systems of rigid bodies are demonstrated. Among them are universality, algorithmizability, computational efficiency, and simplicity of deriving equations for holonomic and nonholonomic systems in terms of generalized coordinates or pseudo-velocities