Matrix Analysis Method for Direct and Multiple Contact Multibody Systems

A generalized modeling procedure for curves and surfaces in direct contact relative motions is developed, such that these joints can be consistently included in the well-developed and established (4 × 4) matrix method for kinematic, static, and dynamic analyses of geometrically constrained lower paired multibody mechanical systems. The modeling procedure allows both the analytical and the discretized Geometric Modeling approaches. As one application of these analytical techniques, a numerical procedure for mobility analysis of multiple contact joints is presented and illustrated. Other applications of this development are enumerated.