A Two-Step Algorithm for the Dynamic Reduction of Flexible Mechanisms

A two-step algorithm for the dynamic reduction of flexible mechanisms inspired to the IRS method for structures is proposed. The classic Guyan-Iron condensation is first extended to multibody systems by introducing the joint compatibility equations in the equations of motion written in terms of slave and the new class joint-nodes. It is demonstrated that the joint-nodes augment the boundary-nodes, that form subset of nodes with independent displacements. Then, the Miller’s expansion is combined with the extended Guyan-Iron reduction to build a two-step algorithm for the dynamic condensation of flexible multibody systems. Finally, a numerical example is studied to check the accuracy of the proposed method.