Dynamics and control of multi-flexible-body systems in a divide-and-conquer scheme

In this paper, we present an extension of the generalized divide-and-conquer algorithm (GDCA) for modeling constrained multi-flexible-body systems. The constraints of interest in this case are not the motion constraints or the presence of closed kinematic loops but those that arise due to inverse dynamics or control laws. The introductory GDCA paper introduced an efficient methodology to include generalized constraint forces in the handle equations of motion of the original divideand- conquer algorithm for rigid multibody systems. Here, the methodology is applied to flexible bodies connected by kinematic joints. We develop necessary equations that define the algorithm and present a well known numerical example to validate the method.