Symbolic equations of motion for hybrid multibody systems using a matrix-vector formulation

A matrix-vector formulation is used to generate symbolic equations of motion for rigid and flexible multi-body systems. This approach generates a minimal set of system equations in compact matrix form conducive to the use of different analysis techniques. General procedures for generating first and second order equations of motion for complex systems as well as generalized coordinate transformation and order reduction are presented. Two examples are presented to illustrate the use of the algorithm. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.