Commercial Multibody Software Research Articles

Evaluation of ride quality in a passenger car with non-uniform tyre radial stiffness

This study is dedicated to examining the influence of varying radial stiffness along the circumference of tyres on a road vehicle ride quality and with a specific focus on aspects relevant to maintenance. Computer simulations employing a three-dimensional road-vehicle model, developed within commercial multi-body software, were conducted to explore the multifaceted factors influencing vehicle behaviour. These factors encompass road unevenness, driving speed, and the range of radial force variation resulting from harmonic changes in tire radial stiffness. Furthermore, simulation tests were carried out using a model of a diagnostic wheel balancing machine, which holds significance in vehicle maintenance practices. Measurements obtained from a passenger car equipped with standard tires with minimal non-uniformity, served as reference values for assessing the car's vibration levels. Additionally, selected scenarios were examined, involving vehicle with multiple wheels exhibiting non-uniform radial stiffness. The findings underscore that non-uniform radial stiffness can magnify the detrimental effects of road irregularities, potentially leading to amplified vibration levels and a heightened need for maintenance considerations.

A Second-Order Dynamic Friction Model Compared to Commercial Stick–Slip Models

Friction has long been an important issue in multibody dynamics. Static friction models apply appropriate regularization techniques to convert the stick inequality and the non-smooth stick–slip transition of Coulomb’s approach into a continuous and smooth function of the sliding velocity. However, a regularized friction force is not able to maintain long-term stick. That is why dynamic friction models were developed in recent decades. The friction force depends herein not only on the sliding velocity but also on internal states. The probably best-known representative, the LuGre friction model, is based on a fictitious bristle but realizes a too-simple approximation. The recently published second-order dynamic friction model describes the dynamics of a fictitious bristle more accurately. It is based on a regularized friction force characteristic, which is continuous and smooth but can maintain long-term stick due to an appropriate shift in the regularization. Its performance is compared here to stick–slip friction models, developed and launched not long ago by commercial multibody software packages. The results obtained by a virtual friction test-bench and by a more practical festoon cable system are very promising. Thus, the second-order dynamic friction model may serve not only as an alternative to the LuGre model but also to commercial stick–slip models.

Optimization of heavy haul railway wheel profile based on rolling contact fatigue and wear performance

This paper presents a methodology to develop optimal railway wheel profiles based on their rolling contact fatigue (RCF) and wear performance. The NSGA-II multi-objective optimization algorithm was employed to minimize two objective functions: the wear index and the fatigue index while satisfying objective constraints. The commercial multibody software SIMPACK® was used for modeling the railway vehicle's dynamics and macrogeometry of a Brazilian heavy haul railway. The objective functions and constraints are obtained from the dynamic simulation and used as inputs to the optimization algorithm which then provides new wheel profiles as the output. To verify the long-term performance of the new profiles, wear and fatigue analysis were performed. Wear simulation using Archard's law generated worn profiles that were used to estimate the wheel's theoretical service life and degradation rate. Fatigue simulation employing the Dang Van fatigue criterion was done to obtain the stress histories for fatigue analysis using a Finite Element Model (FEM) inside ANSYS® software. The study resulted in three optimized profiles. The first was optimal for wear, the second was optimal for fatigue, and the last presented an intermediate performance in terms of wear and fatigue. The findings show that all three optimized wear profiles reduced the wear index by at least 47% when compared to the currently used profile. Furthermore, an improvement of at least 159% was observed in the fatigue index for all new profiles. The service life increased 12% according to the current hollow wheel criterion, 3 mm.

Investigation of Driving Stability of a Vehicle–Trailer Combination Depending on the Load’s Position Within the Trailer

Abstract Passenger cars are a means of transportation used widely for various purposes. The category that a vehicle belongs to is largely responsible for determining its size and storage capacity. There are situations when the capacity of a passenger vehicle is not sufficient. On the one hand, this insufficient capacity is related to a paucity in the space needed for stowing luggage. It is possible to mount a rooftop cargo carrier or a roof basket on the roof of a vehicle. If a vehicle is equipped with a towbar, a towbar cargo carrier can be used for improving its space capacity. These accessories, however, offer limited additional space, and the maximal load is determined by the maximal payload of the concerned vehicle. If, on the other hand, there is a requirement for transporting a load with a mass or dimensions that are greater than what could be supported using these accessories, then, provided the vehicle is equipped with a towbar, a trailer represents an elegant solution for such demanding requirements. A standard flat trailer allows the transportation of goods of various characters, such as goods on pallets, bulk material, etc. However, the towing of a trailer changes the distribution of the loads, together with changes of loads of individual axes of the vehicle–trailer axles. The distribution of the loads is one of the key factors affecting the driving properties of a vehicle–trailer combination in terms of driving stability, which is mainly a function of the distribution of the load on the trailer. This research introduces a study into how the distribution of the load on a trailer influences the driving stability of a vehicle–trailer combination. The research activities are based on simulation computations performed in a commercial multibody software. While the results presented in the article are reached for a particular vehicle–trailer combination as well as for a particular set of driving conditions, the applicability of the findings can also be extended more generally to the impact that the load distributions corresponding to various vehicle–trailer combinations have on the related parameters and other driving properties.

Conceptual design and virtual prototyping of a wearable upper limb exoskeleton for assisted operations

This paper introduces a novel upper limb robotic exoskeleton designed to assist industrial operators in a wide range of manual repetitive tasks, such as tool handling and lifting/moving of heavy items. Due to its reduced size and high maneuverability, the proposed portable device may also be employed for rehabilitation purposes (e.g. as an aid for people with permanent neuromuscular diseases or post-stroke patients). Its primary function is to compensate the gravity loads acting on the human shoulder by means of a hybrid system consisting of four electric motors and three passive springs. The paper focuses on the exoskeleton mechanical design and virtual prototyping. After a preliminary review of the existent architectures and procedures aimed at defining the exoskeleton functional requirements, a detailed behavioral analysis is conducted using analytical and numerical approaches. The developed interactive model allows to simulate both kinematics and statics of the exoskeleton for every possible movement within the design workspace. To validate the model, the results have been compared with the ones achieved with a commercial multibody software for three different operator’s movements.

A general framework for modeling and dynamic simulation of multibody systems using factor graphs

In this paper, we present a novel general framework grounded in the factor graph theory to solve kinematic and dynamic problems for multibody systems. Although the motion of multibody systems is considered to be a well-studied problem and various methods have been proposed for its solution, a unified approach providing an intuitive interpretation is still pursued. We describe how to build factor graphs to model and simulate multibody systems using both, independent and dependent coordinates. Then, batch optimization or a fixed lag smoother can be applied to solve the underlying optimization problem that results in a highly sparse nonlinear minimization problem. The proposed framework has been tested in extensive simulations and validated against a commercial multibody software. We release a reference implementation as an open-source C++ library, based on the GTSAM framework, a well-known estimation library. Simulations of forward and inverse dynamics are presented, showing comparable accuracy with classical approaches. The proposed factor graph-based framework has the potential to be integrated into applications related with motion estimation and parameter identification of complex mechanical systems, ranging from mechanisms to vehicles, or robot manipulators.

The validation of a semi-recursive vehicle dynamics model for a real-time simulation

Semi-recursive formulations and their various versions have made it possible to describe complex nonlinear systems such as vehicles precisely while still solving the relevant equations of motion in real time. An optimal combination of an efficient multibody formulation and a fast numerical time integration scheme are needed to accurately simulate complex systems in real time. This paper introduces a double-step semi-recursive multibody formulation and analyzes its performance with high-order numerical time-integration algorithms for real-time simulation. The Runge-Kutta, Gill, Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg, Adams-Bashforth-Moulton, and adaptive time step Runge-Kutta numerical methods are explained and compared. Results are verified against a commercial multibody software solution. A 15-degree-of-freedom sedan vehicle model serves as a benchmark to verify the theoretical results. The results highlight the differences between the numerical algorithms and suggest appropriate approaches for a nonlinear vehicle dynamics model, particularly for cases where simulation times are long.

Assessment of a rail vehicle running with the damaged wheel on a ride comfort for passengers

In certain conditions rail vehicles wheels can be during operation damaged. Then, the profile of wheels is no longer circular, but it is changed depending on the type and severity of defects. When such rail vehicle with the damaged wheel operates, the quality of a ride comfort for passenger is degraded. This article is focused on the assessment of ride comfort for passenger based on results obtained from dynamic analyses. Simulations and calculations were carried out in commercial multibody software. In our research we considered one type of the railway wheel untrueness – wheel-flat. This type of wheel damaging is relatively common and has such influence on the ride comfort for passenger worsening, which needs to be detected and investigated.

Development and validation of a model for predicting wheel wear in high-speed trains

In this paper, we present a comprehensive model for the prediction of the evolution of high-speed train wheel profiles due to wear. The model consists of four modules: a multi-body model implemented with the commercial multi-body software SIMPACK to evaluate the dynamic response of the vehicle and track; a local contact model based on Hertzian theory and a novel method, named FaStrip (Sichani et al., 2016), to calculate the normal and tangential forces, respectively; a wear model proposed by the University of Sheffield (known as the USFD wear function) to estimate the amount of material removed and its distribution along the wheel profile; and a smoothing and updating strategy. A simulation of the wheel wear of the high-speed train CRH3 in service on the Wuhan-Guangzhou railway line was performed. A virtual railway line based on the statistics of the line was used to represent the entire real track. The model was validated using the wheel wear data of the CRH3 operating on the Wuhan- Guangzhou line, monitored by the authors’ research group. The results of the predictions and measurements were in good agreement.

Dynamic interaction of the monorail–bridge system using a combined finite element multibody-based model

To assess the dynamic behavior of monorail–bridge system, an innovative model of train–guideway interaction has been developed based on multibody dynamics and finite element simulation. A finite element model of guideway structure for a particular monorail system is built up using parametric design language, considering a specific length of straddle monorail line in three dimensions. Both straight and curved track geometries are modeled to simulate the actual bridge infrastructure. Flexible elements are adopted for the guideway beams consisting of reinforced concrete profiles to increase the accuracy of the numerical simulations in a more realistic way. The bridge model indeed, is simulated using a beam-frame structure of composite steel–concrete material. A multibody simulation of monorail vehicle is then introduced using the commercial multibody software MSC Adams. The three-dimensional multibody model of the monorail vehicle together with the bridge subassemblies is eventually implemented in multibody environment. The entire dynamic model of the vehicle-track system consists of all flexible and rigid body elements. Dynamic responses of the vehicle and bridge system are then extracted for different loading conditions. The proposed numerical model is validated using some dynamic simulation results of the system from the vehicle manufacturer in the selected case study. The model is further verified against several analytical and measurement results reported in the literature both for straight and curved track configurations. The result of dynamic simulations gives an overview about the dynamic forces and reactions that can appear in bridge structure due to the train movement.

Modal Selection Through Effective Interface Mass With Application to Flexible Multibody Cranktrain Dynamics

The development of a multibody model of a motorbike L-twin engine cranktrain is presented in this work. The need for an accurate evaluation of the loads acting on the main engine components at high rotational speed makes it necessary to take element flexibility into account in order to capture elastodynamic effects, which might have a major impact on the dynamics of the system. Starting from finite element descriptions of both the crankshaft and the connecting rod, the classical Craig–Bampton (CB) technique is employed to obtain reduced models, which are suitable for the subsequent multibody analysis. A particular component mode selection procedure is implemented based on the concept of effective interface mass, allowing an assessment of the accuracy of the reduced model prior to the nonlinear simulation phase. Bearing dynamics also plays an important role in such a high-speed engine application: angular contact ball bearings are modeled according to a 5DOF nonlinear scheme in order to grasp the main bearings behavior while an impedance-based hydrodynamic bearing model is implemented providing an enhanced operation prediction at big end locations. The assembled cranktrain model is simulated using a commercial multibody software platform. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the procedure implemented for the flexible component model reduction. The advantages of this technique over the traditional mode truncation approach are discussed.

Development and implementation of a differential elastic wheel–rail contact model for multibody applications

The wheel–rail contact analysis plays a fundamental role in the multibody modelling of railway vehicles. A good contact model must provide an accurate description of the global and local contact phenomena (contact forces, position and shape of the contact patch, stresses and displacements) and a general handling of the multiple contact. The model has also to assure high numerical efficiency (in order to be implemented directly online within multibody models) and a good compatibility with commercial multibody software (Simpack Rail, Adams Rail). In this work, an elastic wheel–rail contact model that satisfies the previous specifics is presented. The model considers the wheel and the rail as elastic deformable bodies and requires the numerical solution of Navier's elasticity equation. The contact between wheel and rail has been described by means of suitable analytical contact conditions. Subsequently, the contact model has been inserted within the multibody model of a benchmark railway vehicle (the Manchester Wagon) in order to obtain a complete model of the wagon. The model has been implemented in the Matlab/Simulink environment. Finally, numerical simulations of the vehicle dynamics have been carried out on many different railway tracks with the aim of evaluating the performances of the model. The results obtained with the proposed method have been compared with those obtained by means of a standard commercial software. The main purpose is to achieve a better integration between the differential modelling and the multibody modelling. This kind of integration is almost absent in the literature (especially in the railway field) due to the computational cost and to the memory storage needs. However, it is very important because only the differential modelling allows an accurate analysis of the contact problem (in terms of contact forces, position and shape of the contact patch, stresses and displacements) while the multibody modelling is currently the standard in the study of the railway dynamics.

Development of a wear prediction tool for steel railway wheels using three alternative wear functions

Abstract When compared with road traffic, railway transportation is safer, more comfortable, less polluting and presents less energy consumption per passenger/km. When compared with the airplane, high speed trains are able to compete for short and medium distances, with the advantage of having better energy efficiency and causing less pollution. However, to maintain the operational performance of railway vehicles, it is necessary that the quality of the wheel–rail contact is controlled, which requires, among others, a good understanding of the wear mechanisms of the wheels and the consequences of their changing profile on vehicle dynamics. In this work, a computational tool that is able to predict the evolution of the wheel profiles for a given railway system, as a function of the distance run, is presented. The strategy adopted consists of a commercial multibody software to study the railway dynamic problem and a purpose-built code for managing its pre and post-processing data in order to compute the wear. Three alternative wear functions are implemented to compute the amount of worn material on the railway wheels. The computational tool is applied here to a realistic operational scenario in order to demonstrate its capabilities on wear prediction. Special attention is given to the comparison of the results obtained with the different wear functions implemented in this work and to the global and local contact models used in such formulations.

A study on wear evaluation of railway wheels based on multibody dynamics and wear computation

The wear evolution of railway wheels is a very important issue in railway engineering. In the past, the reprofiling intervals of railway vehicle steel wheels have been scheduled according to designers’ experience. Today, more reliable and accurate tools in predicting wheel wear evolution and wheelset lifetime can be used in order to achieve economical and safety benefits. In this work, a computational tool that is able to predict the evolution of the wheel profiles for a given railway system, as a function of the distance run, is presented. The strategy adopted consists of using a commercial multibody software to study the railway dynamic problem and a purpose-built code for managing its pre- and post-processing data in order to compute the wear. The tool is applied here to realistic operation scenarios in order to assess the effect of some service conditions on the wheel wear progression.

Influence of pre-collision occupant parameters on injury outcome in a frontal collision

Optimal performance of adaptive restraint systems in the vehicle requires an accurate assessment of occupant characteristics including physical properties and pre-collision response of the occupant. To provide a feasible framework for incorporating occupant characteristics into adaptive restraint schemes, this study evaluates the sensitivity of injury risk in frontal collisions to four occupant parameters: mass, stature, posture and bracing level. The numerical approach includes using commercial multi-body software to develop occupant models that span a range of occupant parameters representative of the real-world driver population. Coupled with a multi-body model of the vehicle interior and standard restraint system, risk of occupant injuries within specific body regions are predicted through numerical simulations in conjunction with established injury risk functions. The results show occupant posture to be the most significant parameter affecting the overall risk of injury in frontal collisions. The causal relationship as predicted using the numerical model has been compared to the traffic injury epidemiology findings, and the feasibility of an analytical methodology to provide real-time estimates of injury severity has been discussed. Preliminary estimates from the study indicate that the proposed methodology will provide a framework to optimize restraint performance and potentially reduce the risk of injuries up to 35% (based on parameter-specific optimization), using accurate information regarding the pre-collision occupant characteristics.

On the dynamics of a washing machine with flexible components

The growing demand for highly efficient, reliable and inexpensive washing machines has driven the need for state-of-the-art numerical tools to predict, evaluate and optimize both the existing and new designs. Improving the washing machine's design requires in-depth knowledge of the machine's structure. In particular, the dynamic behavior of the structure during the spinning period needs to be studied carefully at the design stage. A numerical tool for predicting dynamic behavior would save considerable time, reduce the number of prototypes that need to be built, and decrease development costs. In this study, the dynamic behavior of a horizontal-axis, front-loading washing machine was studied by using commercial multibody simulation software, MSC.Adams. In the numerical model, the housing's side panels and spring strut bar were modeled as flexible components.

Subharmonic vibrations of a roll tube supported by plain journal bearings

This study presents a dynamic model for describing a journal bearing with circumferential waviness of the shaft journal. The journal bearing model is based on an analytical solution of the Reynolds equation and defines the non-linear hydrodynamic forces that act on the journal bearing. The waviness of the shaft journal is modelled through the use of a Fourier cosine series to describe the shape of the film thickness of the bearing. The waviness of the shaft journal can lead to subharmonic vibrations in which the natural vibration mode of the rotor is excited when the rotation speed is a fraction of the natural frequency of the rotor-bearing system. This phenomenon is investigated in this study utilizing the proposed bearing model in a rotor system simulation. The rotor system under investigation consists of a roll tube, two journal bearings and the supporting structure. The proposed journal bearing model can be used in a general multi-body or rotor dynamics computer code as the interface element between the rotor and the bearing housing. In this study, the model of the journal bearing is implemented in a commercial multi-body simulation software application. This approach enables a detailed analysis of the rotor-bearing system in such a way that the dynamic interaction of the rotor with the bearing is taken into consideration. The simulation result agrees with the experimental measurements obtained from a real roll tube system.