Solving mechanical systems with nonholonomic constraints by a Lie-group differential algebraic equations method

A Lie-group differential algebraic equations (LGDAE) method, which is developed for solving differential-algebraic equations, is a simple and effective algorithm based on the Lie group GL(n,R) and the Newton iterative scheme. This paper deepens the theoretical foundation of the LGDAE method and widens its practical applications to solve nonlinear mechanical systems with nonholonomic constraints. After obtaining the closed-form formulation of elements of a one-parameter group GLGL(n,R) and refining the algorithm of the LGDAE method, this differential-algebraic split method is applied to solve nine problems of nonholonomic mechanics in order to evaluate its accuracy and efficiency. Numerical computations of the LGDAE method exhibit the preservation of the nonholonomic constraints with an error smaller than 10-10. Comparing the closed-form solutions demonstrates that the numerical results obtained are highly accurate, indicating that the present scheme is promising. © 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.