Stabilization of Redundantly Constrained Dynamic System

This article addresses the issue of constraint stabilization in a dynamic system. The well known Lagrange’s equation of motion of second order is used for modelling the dynamics of a mechanical systems considered in this paper. It is known that Baumgarte’s method of constraint stabilization does not avoid the problem of singularity of mass matrices that may result from redundancy of constraints and as a result it fails to run simulations near and at singularity points. A generalized Baumgarte’s method of constraint stabilization is developed and the stability of the developed method is ascertained by Lyapunov’s direct method. The developed method avoids using the same correction parameters for all constraints under discussion. The usual Baumgarte’s method, which uses the same correction parameters, becomes a particular case of the one developed in this article. Moreover, a modified Lagrange’s equation is constructed in a way that explains all the details of its derivation. The modified Lagrange’s equation improves Lagrange’s equation of motion in such a way that, it addresses the issue of redundant constraints and singular mass matrices. As it is the case in Baumgarte’s method, the usual Lagrange’s equation is a particular case of the improved method developed in this paper. Besides, a numerical example is provided in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods developed. Finally, the carried out simulations show asymptotic stability of the trajectories and run without problem at singularity points.

stability, generalized Baumgarte’s method, modified Lagrange’s equation, singular mass matrices, redundant constraints, Lyapunov’s direct method