Abstract Structures with clustered cables are widespread in many engineering applications. Most existing works involving clustered cables are based on a finite element formulation and do not address cable friction. This paper presents a novel multibody-based methodology for the mechanical analysis of systems containing clustered cable elements. The generalized coordinates of the system are chosen as configurations of the attached rigid bodies, rather than traditional nodal displacements or positions on the finite element formulation. The clustered cables are considered as internal force elements that act on the bodies. To address the friction induced by cable sliding, a comprehensive complementarity-based framework is developed for different analysis cases. For explicit dynamic analyses, by introducing a limited number of assumptions, a non-smooth LCP-based approach is proposed that enables us to integrate any mature LCP solvers into the time integration. For implicit static and dynamic analyses, a nonlinear complementarity function-based approach is proposed, which allows us to solve the problem in a unified, continuous and smooth manner. As a representative engineering application, the developed framework is employed in the mechanical analyses of active tensegrity structures. The numerical results show that the friction between the clustered cable and the struts fundamentally alters the system mechanical behavior. For static analyses, it is emphasized that friction leads to a significant difference in tension magnitudes in different segments of a clustered cable. For dynamic analyses, the results reveal that novel behavior, such as the stick-slip phenomenon of the connection points can occur frequently. The outcomes demonstrate the ability of the proposed methodology to capture the complex and diverse motion states.

中文翻译：

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使用集群电缆进行多体系统分析的综合框架：张拉整体结构示例

摘要 具有成束电缆的结构在许多工程应用中很普遍。大多数涉及成簇电缆的现有工作都基于有限元公式，并没有解决电缆摩擦问题。本文提出了一种新的基于多体的方法，用于对包含集群索单元的系统进行力学分析。系统的广义坐标被选择作为附加刚体的配置，而不是传统的节点位移或有限元公式上的位置。成簇的电缆被认为是作用在物体上的内力元件。为了解决缆索滑动引起的摩擦，针对不同的分析案例开发了一个全面的基于互补性的框架。对于显式动态分析，通过引入有限数量的假设，提出了一种基于非平滑 LCP 的方法，使我们能够将任何成熟的 LCP 求解器集成到时间积分中。对于隐式静态和动态分析，提出了一种基于非线性互补函数的方法，它使我们能够以统一、连续和平滑的方式解决问题。作为具有代表性的工程应用，所开发的框架用于主动张拉整体结构的力学分析。数值结果表明，簇状索与支柱之间的摩擦从根本上改变了系统的力学行为。对于静态分析，需要强调的是摩擦会导致成束电缆不同部分的张力大小存在显着差异。对于动态分析，结果表明新行为，例如连接点的粘滑现象会经常发生。结果证明了所提出的方法能够捕捉复杂多样的运动状态。