Dynamics of Flexible Manipulators

This paper presents an application of Continuum (i.e. Lagrangian) and Finite Element Techniques to flexible manipulator arms for derivation of the corresponding Dynamic Equations of Motion. Specifically a one-link flexible arm is considered for detailed analysis, and the results are extended for the case of a two - link flexible manipulator. Numerical examples are given for the case of both one and two link flexible arms, and the resulting dynamic equations are solved and thoroughly discussed. In addition, both methods are compared in the sense of modeling and the required time and accuracy for computation.