High-order variational time integrators for particle dynamics

The general family of Galerkin variational integrators are analyzed and a complete classification of such methods is proposed. This classification is based upon the type of basis function chosen to approximate the trajectories of material points and the numerical quadrature formula used in time. This approach leads to the definition of arbitrarily high order method in time. The proposed methodology is applied to the simulation of brownout phenomena occurring in helicopter take-off and landing.