Inertial force term approximations for the use of Global Modal Parameterization for planar mechanisms

Recently a new model reduction technique for flexible multibody systems has been introduced, namely the Global Modal Parameterization (GMP). This method uses a system-level model reduction, in which the reduction is parameterized by the rigid position of the system and a small flexible deformation superposed on this rigid position. Because of the non-linearity, the projection base for reduction is position dependent. This position dependence leads to strongly non-linear inertial terms, with associated increased storage requirements and computational load. This paper gives a short overview of the GMP-method and focuses predominantly on the derivation of the reduced inertial forces. Three different approximations for the inertial terms are presented and numerically validated. It is shown that a substantial reduction in storage requirements, while maintaining accurate results, is possible through these approximations. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.status: publishe