Higher Order Variational Integrators for Multibody System Dynamics with Constraints

Abstract

The continuous and discrete Euler-Lagrangian equations with holonomic constraints are presented based on continuous and discrete Hamiltonian Principle. Using Lagrangian polynomial to interpolate state variables and Gauss quadrature formula to approximate Hamiltonian action integral, the higher order variational Galerkin integrators for multibody system dynamics with constraints and the computation procedure are given. Numerical examples are provided to show the long-time behavior of the methods proposed in this paper via comparisons with traditional Runge-Kutta methods.