The purpose of this paper is to present formulations for beam elements based on the absolute nodal co-ordinate formulation that can be effectively and efficiently used in the case of thin structural applications. The numerically stiff behaviour resulting from shear terms in existing absolute nodal co-ordinate formulation beam elements that employ the continuum mechanics approach to formulate the elastic forces and the resulting locking phenomenon make these elements less attractive for slender stiff structures. In this investigation, additional shape functions are introduced for an existing spatial absolute nodal co-ordinate formulation beam element in order to obtain higher accuracy when the continuum mechanics approach is used to formulate the elastic forces. For thin structures where bending stiffness can be important in some applications, a lower order cable element is introduced and the performance of this cable element is evaluated by comparing it with existing formulations using several examples. Cables that experience low tension or catenary systems where bending stiffness has an effect on the wave propagation are examples in which the low order cable element can be used. The cable element, which does not have torsional stiffness, can be effectively used in many problems such as in the formulation of the sliding joints in applications such as the spatial pantograph/catenary systems. The numerical study presented in this paper shows that the use of existing implicit time integration methods enables the simulation of multibody systems with a moderate number of thin and stiff finite elements in reasonable CPU time.

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The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive review of the finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation, which can be used to obtain efficient solutions to large deformation problems of constrained multibody systems. In particular, important features of different types of beam and plate elements that have been proposed since 1996 are reviewed. These elements are categorized by parameterization of the elements (i.e., fully parameterized and gradient deficient elements), strain measures used, and remedies for locking effects. Material nonlinearities and the integration of the absolute nodal coordinate formulation to general multibody dynamics computer algorithms are addressed with particular emphasis on visco-elasticity, elasto-plasticity, and joint constraint formulations. Furthermore, it is shown that the absolute nodal coordinate formulation has been applied to a wide variety of challenging nonlinear dynamics problems that include belt drives, rotor blades, elastic cables, leaf springs, and tires. Unresolved issues and future perspectives of the study of the absolute nodal coordinate formulation are also addressed in this investigation.

As the need to model flexibility arose in multibody dynamics, the floating frame of reference formulation was developed, but this approach can yield inaccurate results when elastic displacements becomes large. While the use of three-dimensional finite element formulations overcomes this problem, the associated computational cost is overwhelming. Consequently, beam models, which are one-dimensional approximations of three-dimensional elasticity, have become the workhorse of many flexible multibody dynamics codes. Numerous beam formulations have been proposed, such as the geometrically exact beam formulation or the absolute nodal coordinate formulation, to name just two. New solution strategies have been investigated as well, including the intrinsic beam formulation or the DAE approach. This paper provides a systematic comparison of these various approaches, which will be assessed by comparing their predictions for four benchmark problems. The first problem is the Princeton beam experiment, a study of the static large displacement and rotation behavior of a simple cantilevered beam under a gravity tip load. The second problem, the four-bar mechanism, focuses on a flexible mechanism involving beams and revolute joints. The third problem investigates the behavior of a beam bent in its plane of greatest flexural rigidity, resulting in lateral buckling when a critical value of the transverse load is reached. The last problem investigates the dynamic stability of a rotating shaft. The predictions of eight independent codes are compared for these four benchmark problems and are found to be in close agreement with each other and with experimental measurements, when available

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