A superelement formulation for mechanism analysis (Q1205053)

A superelement formulation capable of handling large finite rotations is developed. The term `superelement' in finite element technology, refers to numerical models obtained by condensation of a large finite element mesh. In this paper, this technique is generalized to building numerical models of mechanism members from information computed in a linear vibration analysis program. This model can afterwards be used to analyze mechanism members undergoing large arbitrary rotations in three- dimensional space. The formulation is based on a small rotation and displacement hypothesis in a local frame to the superelement.