New Insights into a Three-Sub-Step Composite Method and Its Performance on Multibody Systems

This paper develops a new implicit solution procedure for multibody systems based on a three-sub-step composite method, named TTBIF (trapezoidal–trapezoidal backward interpolation formula). The TTBIF is second-order accurate, and the effective stiffness matrices of the first two sub-steps are the same. In this work, the algorithmic parameters of the TTBIF are further optimized to minimize its local truncation error. Theoretical analysis shows that for both undamped and damped systems, this optimized TTBIF is unconditionally stable, controllably dissipative, third-order accurate, and has no overshoots. Additionally, the effective stiffness matrices of all three sub-steps are the same, leading to the effective stiffness matrix being factorized only once in a step for linear systems. Then, the implementation procedure of the present optimized TTBIF for multibody systems is presented, in which the position constraint equation is strictly satisfied. The advantages in accuracy, stability, and energy conservation of the optimized TTBIF are validated by some benchmark multibody dynamic problems.