OPEN ACCESS
The flexible deformation is often neglected in cable modelling on CAD software. To solve the problem, this paper proposes a physical modeling and deformation simulation method for flexible cable under plane constraint based on the nonlinear statics theory of elastic rod. Specifically, a statics equation of the balanced cable was established under plane constraint in the cylindrical coordinate system. Taking the Euler angles as the generalized parameter, the cable space configuration was described through dynamic analogy by the semi-analytical method and the analytical expression in the form of elliptic integral. Then, the simulated cable shapes were compared with the actual shapes under different material parameters and constraint conditions. The results show that the proposed model and numerical solution can fully describe the deformation features of the cable under the plane constraint in an accurate and efficient manner. The research results lay a solid basis for the CAD in cable production.
plane constraint, flexible cable, elastic rod theory, semi-analytical method, deformation simulation
The work in this paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51175053) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (3132016353 and 3132018210) and Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (201601068).
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