Flexible multibody dynamics refers to the computational strategies used to determine time histories of motion & deformation of interconnected components subjected to large overall motion. Examples are robots, vehicles, mechanisms, machines, etc. The floating frame of reference formulation (FFRF) [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00707-020-02886-2?] is the most-widely used method to analyse such systems. The FFRF is conventionally limited to small deformations. The aim of this thesis is to research towards an efficient and implementation-friendly FFRF for large deformations. The idea here is to artificially cut a body into multiple substructures and attach one floating frame to each substructure so that we can assume linear deformations within each substructure but represent large deformations on a body level.
Strong motivation and deep interest in structural dynamics are of key importance. Experience in one or more of the following topics won't hurt: Multibody Dynamics, Finite Element Method, Continuum Mechanics, MATLAB/Python