Modelling and Performance Analysis of a Flexible Manipulator System Using Symbolic Manipulation

This paper presents a symbolic manipulation approach for modelling and performance analysis of a flexible manipulator system using finite element methods. A constrained planar single-link flexible manipulator is considered. A symbolic algorithm characterising the dynamic behaviour of the system is developed using a symbolic language. Using this approach, the system transfer functions are obtained in symbolic forms. Analyses and investigations in terms of system stability, time response to an input command and vibration frequencies are presented. Numeric and experimental results are presented for validation and assessment of the symbolic model.