An explicit integration method for realtime simulation of multibody vehicle models

High performance computers have been used for realtime simulation of multib ody vehicle dynamics models consisting of many bodies and joints, a powertr ain model, antiroll bars, and tires. This research proposes an efficient im plementation algorithm for explicit numerical integration methods so that r elatively low cost computers can be used for the realtime simulation of the multibody vehicle dynamics models. Newton chord method is employed to solv e the equations of motion and constraints. The equations of motion and cons traints are formulated such that the Jacobian matrix for Newton chord metho d is needed to be computed only once for a dynamic analysis. Numerical expe riments showed that the Jacobian matrix generated at the initial time could have been utilized for the Newton chord iterations throughout simulations under various driving conditions. Convergence analysis of Newton chord meth od with the proposed Jacobian updating method is carried out. The proposed algorithm yielded almost exact solutions for a prototype vehicle multibody model in realtime on a 400 MHz PC compatible. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A . All rights reserved.