Discrete Time Transfer Matrix Method for Multibody System Dynamics

A new method for multibody system dynamics is proposed in this paper. This method, named as discrete time transfer matrix method of multibody system (MS-DT-TMM), combines and expands the advantages of the transfer matrix method (TMM), transfer matrix method of vibration of multibody system (MS-TMM), discrete time transfer matrix method (DT-TMM) and the numerical integration procedure. It does not need the global dynamics equations for the study of multibody system dynamics. It has the modeling flexibility and a small size of matrices, and can be applied to a wide range of problems including multi-rigid-body system dynamics and multi-flexible-body system dynamics. This method is simple, straightforward, practical, and provides a powerful tool for the study of multibody system dynamics. Formulations of the method as well as some numerical examples of multi-rigid-body system dynamics and multi-flexible-body system dynamics to validate the method are given.