AAS 97-119

AN EIGENFACTOR SQUARE ROOT ALGORITHM FORMULATION FOR NONLINEAR DYNAMICS

J. L. Junkins and H. Schaub, Texas A&M University

Abstract

A novel method is presented to solve the equations of motion for a large class of constrained and unconstrained dynamical systems. Given an analytic expression for the system mass matrix, quasi-coordinated equations of motion are derived in a manner that generates equations analogous to the dynamics/kinematics partitioning in Eulerian rigid body dynamics. A new method is introduced whereby dynamical constraint equations are solved using a related eigenfactor formulation, foregoing any need to solve the algebraic constraint equations simultaneously with the differential equations of motion.