A MESHFREE METHOD BASED ON RADIAL POINT INTERPOLATION METHOD FOR THE DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF ROTATING FLEXIBLE BEAMS

A meshfree method based on radial point interpolation method (RPIM) is proposed for dynamic analysis of a rotating flexible beam. The RPIM is used to describe the deformation of the flexible beam. The longitudinal and transverse deformations of the beam are both considered, and the coupling term of the deformation which is caused by the transverse deformation is included in the longitudinal deformation of the beam. The rigid-flexible coupling dynamic equations of the system are derived via employing Lagrange's equations of the second kind. Simulation results of the RPIM are compared with those obtained by using finite element method (FEM) and assumed modes method and show the limitations of assumed modes method. It is demonstrated that the meshfree method as a discrete method of the flexible body can be extended in the field of multibody system dynamics. Meanwhile, the influence of the radial basis shape parameters is discussed. What's more, three integration methods (Newmark method, fourth-order Runge—Kutta method and Adams prediction correction method) are used to solve the dynamic equations, and it shows that the Newmark method is the fastest with the computational effciency.