ADAMS/Solver Primer
Ann Arbor
August, 2004
Dan Negrat
Dan.Negrut@mscsoftware.com
Andrew Dyer
Andrew Dyer@mscsoftware.comA. Introduction......scssonsnnnninsnstnniennannnsinnntnsieinanensiisnatnseeseasse
1.1. _ Solving Nonlinear Equations. The Newton Method.
Definitions, Notations, Conventions.
1. Generalized Coordinates used in ADAMS .....0:.snsnnnenansnnnnnnnnsene
2.2, Joints itt ADAMS........snsnnnnnnnnninininnnnnnininninnnansennaisnnnis
2.3. Motions in ADAMS.
Initial Condition Analysis.
3.1. Position Initial Condition AnalySis .....000nmnmnmnnnnnnnnnnninnnnnnnnne
3.2. Velocity Initial Condition Analysis ....00.o:nsmsnninnsnninnnsennnisnnnis
3.3. Force and Acceleration Initial Condition Analysis.
4, Kinematic Analysis,
4.1, Position-Level Kinematic ANalYSi8 ...0nunsnmnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne
4.2. Velocity-Level Kinematic Analy$i8....00ssnsusnsnnsnnnnnesennnisnnnnsn
4.3. Acceleration Level Kinematic Analysis
5. Dynamic Analysis
5.1, Nomenclature, Conventions, Definitions........::nmnnnmnnnnnnnnnse
5.2. Formulation of Equation Of Motion in ADAMS .....0.ssssnsennssenans
5.3. Numerical Solution for Dynamic Analysis. Jacobian Computation,
6. Statics Analysis
6.1, The STATIC approach ...nsnsnnnnnnnneinnnninnnieimnsninnsinnannnnse
6.2. The DYNAMIC Approach ...osssnsnninninnnnsnninninnnnnsinnnisnnnis
6.3. The STATIC_HOLD Attribute.
7. A Simple Pendulum Example.
71
72.
73
The Simple Pendulum Model .....0:ssnnnnnnninnnninnniannnniennis
Initial Condition Analysis .......0.0smunnnnnennnntnnnnieininnnnnseenni
Dynamic Analysis
Conversion to First-order System
14,
15.
Kinematic ANALYSIS ..unonnnnnninninninninninnnninninninninnnnnnnnnnnnnnne
Static AMALYSIS ..oonmnnnnninninnnnnninninnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnns
8. Ways and Means for Improving your MSC.ADAMS Simulation.
81
8.2,
83.
8.4
85
85.1
8.5.2,
8.5.3,
Settings in the INTEGRATOR Statement
Settings in the EQUILIBRIUM Statement ....nunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne
Rules of Thumb for Creating Robust Models in ADAMS .......c.ssssesn
Validating your Simulation Results
Debugging Support in ADAMS/Solver.
DEBUGVEPRINT sso sosnssniniesnnnnnnininnninininnininisieinnsnnnsie
DEBUG/RHSDUMP .....ssssnsnnntnnsininninnninnsinnnisnnnis
DEBUG/TMDUMP
Appendix A. Integration Jacobian1. Introduction
The purpose of this document is to introduce the ADAMS user to the theory that
underlies the ADAMS/Solver. A basic understanding of the theory and the ways in
which the solver works can help the user make good modeling decisions, or choose a set
of simulation parameters that will lead to faster and more reliable simulations.
This document provides in section 1.1 a very brief introduction to the Newton-
Raphson method for the solution of non-linear systems. Virtually all analysis modes in
ADAMS use this algorithm, and the user is strongly encouraged to understand the basics.
This is essential for understanding the informational and debugging messages that
ADAMS/Solver provides, why an equilibrium analysis is challenging, how changing the
Jacobian evaluation pattern is going to impact the convergence properties of the solver,
and list goes on.
In the first part of the document (sections 2 through 6) the focus is on equation
formulation and solution. The reader is introduced to the concept of generalized
coordinates, as well as the equations that govern the most representative types of analyses
that can be performed by the ADAMS/Solver; i., Initial Condition Analysis, Kinematic
Analysis, Dynamics Analysis, and Static/Quasi-static Analysis. These equation sets are
rather abstract, and therefore this discussion is followed in section 7 by a simple test case
that reinforces in a simplified two-dimensional framework the process of deriving the
equations for each analysis type.
Section 8 discusses ways in which an ADAMS/Solver simulation can be made to
run faster and more robustly. Subsections 8.1 and 8.2 are focused on dynamics and
statics simulations as they are typically more challenging. The discussion will cover
relevant parameters associated with the INTEGRATOR and EQUILIBRIUM statements
Subsection 8.3 provides a set of recommendations and good practices for ADAMS.
modeling. Subsection 8.4 discusses the issue of validating your results in ADAMS, while
subsection 8.5 explains how the user can get useful debug information from
ADAMS/Solver:
1.1. Solving Nonlinear Equations. The Newton Method
The Newton Method is widely used by ADAMS/Solver and is an important numerical
algorithm to understand in order to produce models that lead to robust and fast
simulations. In one dimension, the Newton-Raphson algorithm finds the root x" of a
non-linear equation
f(xy=0 a)
where the function :R — R is assumed to be differentiable. If an initial approximation
x” of the root is provided, a new configuration x'" , hopefully closer to the root x" is
computed aso£")
LO)
where /’0 is the derivative of the function with respect to the variables on which it
depends.
Q
This strategy of updating the value of x is obtained by linearizing the function f at the
point x"), Thus,
SOD FM) + FM) HX) GB)
Rather than solving /(x)=0, the root of the right hand side expression in Eq.(3) is
sought. This leads to a linear equation, and its root is denoted by x":
_f@)
FR")
which is the configuration update defined in Eq.(2). The algorithm continues by setting
x