Rigid Body Collisions

Abstract

A general approach is presented for solving the problem of the collision of two rigid bodies at a point. The approach overcomes the difficulties encountered by others on the treatment of contact velocity reversals and negative energy losses. A classical problem is solved; the initial velocities are presumed known and the final velocities unknown. The interaction process between the two bodies is modeled using two coefficients. These are the classical coefficient of restitution, e, and the ratio, μ, of tangential to normal impulses. The latter quantity can be a coefficient of friction as a special case. The paper reveals that these coefficients have a much broader intepretation than previously recognized in the solution of collision problems. The appropriate choice of values for μ is related to the energy loss of the collision. It is shown that μ is bounded by values which correspond to no sliding at separation and conservation of energy. Another bound on μ combined with limits on the coefficient e, provides an overall bound on the energy loss of a collision. Examples from existing mechanics literature are solved to illustrate the significance of the coefficients and their relationship to the energy loss of collisions.