Augmented Lagrangian index-3 semi-recursive formulations with projections

Abstract Sensitivity analysis represents a powerful tool for the optimization of multibody system dynamics. The performance of a gradient-based optimization algorithm is strongly tied to the dynamic and the sensitivity formulations considered. The accuracy and efficiency are critical to any optimization problem, thus they are key factors in the selection of the dynamic and sensitivity analysis approaches used to compute an objective function gradient. Semi-recursive methods usually outperform global methods in terms of computational time, even though they involve sometimes demanding recursive procedures. Semi-recursive methods are well suited to be combined with different constraints enforcement schemes as the augmented Lagrangian index-3 formulation with velocity and acceleration projections (ALI3-P), taking advantage of the robustness, accurate fulfillment of constraint equations and the low computational burden. The sensitivity analysis of the semi-recursive ALI3-P formulation is studied in this document by means of the direct differentiation method. As a result, a semi-recursive ALI3-P sensitivity formulation is developed for an arbitrary reference point selection, and then two particular versions are unfolded and implemented in the general purpose multibody library MBSLIM, using as reference point the center of mass (RTdyn0) or the global origin of coordinates (RTdyn1). Besides, the detailed derivatives of the recursive terms are provided, which will be useful not only for the direct sensitivity formulation presented herein, but also for other sensitivity formulations relying on the same recursive expressions. The implementation has been tested in two numerical experiments, a five-bar benchmark problem and a buggy vehicle.