A Generalized Procedure to Model Complex Time-Varying Physical Systems

This paper addresses the systematic modeling of complex physical systems involving constant and time-varying interactions of physical elements in different energetic domains. The proposed procedure provides two different dynamic models of the considered system: a full-order one and a reduced-order one, where the latter is obtained when some of the system dynamical elements are properly disregarded. The matrices and vectors of the two dynamic models are automatically computed following the proposed rules and algorithms, thus reducing the chances of making computation mistakes. The proposed procedure is applied to two different case studies: an hydraulic continuous variable transmission for powertrain dynamics and a crank-connecting rod system in the mechatronic field.