Multibody System - Concept

Concept

A body is usually considered to be a rigid or flexible part of a mechanical system (not to be confused with the human body). An example of a body is the arm of a robot, a wheel or axle in a car or the human forearm. A link is the connection of two or more bodies, or a body with the ground. The link is defined by certain (kinematical) constraints that restrict the relative motion of the bodies. Typical constraints are:

  • spherical joint; constrains relative displacements in one point, relative rotation is allowed; implies 3 kinematical constraints
  • revolute joint; only one relative rotation is allowed; implies 5 kinematical constraints; see the example above
  • prismatic joint; relative displacement along one axis is allowed, constrains relative rotation; implies 5 kinematical constraints
  • cardan joint; 4 kinematical constraints

There are two important terms in multibody systems: degree of freedom and constraint condition.

Read more about this topic:  Multibody System

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