Special Issue: Geometric Methods and Formulations

Multibody system (MBS) dynamics is a branch of computational mechanics dealing with modeling principles and computational methods for dynamic analysis, simulation, and control of complex mechanical systems. From its outset as engineering research field during 1970s, it focuses on mechanical models, mathematical formulations, and computational methods with the aim to establish efficient and reliable numerical simulation methods that allow for studying the dynamics of complex MBS. However, although many advanced formulations and algorithms have been proposed over the years, the steady growth of technological challenges requires ever more detailed high-fidelity models and the corresponding simulation procedures. After three decades of intensive research, a variety of reliable and computationally efficient numerical tools exist and have become an integral part of the development cycle in various industry sectors. At the same time, there is a growing demand for more robust and efficient numerical codes as well as for a better understanding of...