Kinematic and dynamic simulation of multi-body systems is an important tool for analysis and design of a wide variety of systems, and similar to the finite-element method, it constitutes an integral part of Computer-Aided Engineering. While the finite-element method is essentially a "batch" process, the analysis of multi-body systems can be inherently interactive. With the spectacular growth in computing power now available to individual users and with the improvements in simulation algorithms, it is becoming more and more feasible for engineers to use interactive and even real-time dynamic analyses in every day engineering calculations. This text presents the main types of coordinates used to describe multi-body systems, as well as the most common and useful methods used in kinematic and dynamic analyses. The first chapters introduce basic techniques essential to a further study of the literature. The book contains many original developments due to the authors and their research teams. The emphasis is on clarity of presentation, computational efficiency and simplicity of the formulations. Each chapter contains many worked examples as well as problems and computer exercises. The book concludes with a compendium of recent developments in the field.

FROM THE REvIEWS:

MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS "The book under review presents a comprehensive treatment of all aspects of modeling and numerical analysis of multibody systems. It contains many illustrations and examples and is suitable as a textbook for one or two graduate courses in multibody dynamics."