Abstract
The purpose of this study is to develop a procedure for performing a dynamic analysis of a multibody system moving along nonlinear trajectories at variable velocity. The finiteelement equations of motion were derived in the case that the multibody ststem undergoes large translational and rotational displacements in three dimensions. Then a computational code for time history responses of multibody systems was developed using the derived equations. Numerical solutions calculated by the developed computational code were compared with experimental results on cantilever beams. As an application of the new method, the time history response of a flexible link system for movement along a nonlinear trajectory at variable velocity was calculated using the developed computational code.
