Efficient Analysis of Flexible Multibody Dynamics using Recursive Lagrange Multiplier Elimination of Deformation Coordinate Condensation

In this paper, we propose a deformation coordinate condensation method with recursive Lagrange multiplier elimination is proposed for the efficient analysis of flexible multibody dynamics, based on the floating reference frame. Because the deformation coordinates are condensed to the body absolute coordinates, using the proposed method improves the efficiency due to smaller size of the condensed equations of motion compared to that of the conventional ones. We also propose a recursive Lagrange multiplier elimination method for serially connected flexible body systems for further efficiency. Using a rotating beam benchmark example, we verify the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. Furthermore, we compare the efficiency of the proposed and conventional methods, using theoretical computational complexity analysis.