Modal reduction procedures for flexible multibody dynamics

Through a critical review of the various component mode synthesis techniques developed in the past, it is shown that both Craig–Bampton’s and Herting’s methods are particular cases of the mode-acceleration method and furthermore, Rubin’s method is equivalent to Herting’s method. Consequently, the mode-acceleration method is the approach of choice due to its simplicity and because unlike the other methods, it imposes no restriction on the selection of the modes. Next, a general approach to the modal reduction of geometrically nonlinear structures is developed within the framework of the motion formalism, based on the small deformation assumption. The floating frame of reference is defined unequivocally by imposing six linear constraints on the deformation measures, which are defined as the vectorial parameterization of the relative motion tensor that brings the fictitious rigid-body configuration to its deformed counterpart. This approach yields deformation measures that are both objective and tensorial, unlike their classical counterparts that share the first property only. Derivatives are expressed in the material frame, leading to computationally advantageous properties: tangent matrices are functions of the deformation measures only and become nearly constant during the simulation. Numerical examples demonstrate the accuracy, robustness, and numerical efficiency of the proposed approach. With a small number of modal elements, the formulation is able to capture geometrically nonlinear effects accurately, even in the presence of inherently nonlinear phenomena such as buckling.