Equations of motion for constrained systems

Abstract

In this chapter, the formulation of motion’s equations of multi-rigid body systems is described. The generalized coordinates are the centroidal Cartesian coordinates, being the system configuration restrained by constraint equations. The present formulation uses the Newton-Euler’s equations of motion, which are augmented with the constraint equations that lead to a system of differential algebraic equations. This formulation is straightforward in terms of assembling the equations of motion and providing all reaction forces.