Flexible multibody dynamics - An object-oriented approach

An approach to the computer aided analysis of flexible multibody systems using object-oriented programming methods is presented. The aim is to support the rapid generation of specialized programs by providing an open, extensible C++ toolkit. This toolkit contains modules (C++ classes) which allow the declaration and manipulation of multibody components such as joints, bodies and actuators in an intuitive manner. New components (e.g., new finite elements) are easily introduced to extend the toolkit. The equations of motion for a multibody system consisting of these components are formulated by direct application of the principle of virtual work using symbolic techniques. It is possible to use absolute as well as relative coordinates in a problem-dependent manner.