Estimation of impact forces during multi-point collisions involving small deformations

Collision between hard objects causes abrupt changes in the velocities of the system, which are characterized by very large contact forces over very small time durations. A common approach in the analysis of such collisions is to describe the system velocities using an impulse-momentum based relationship. The time duration of impact and the deformations at the contact points are usually assumed to be negligible for such an impact models, and the system velocities are evolved in terms of the impulses on the system. This type of impact models are usually relevant for hard (rigid) impacts, where deformations at the contact points can be considered negligible. However, these models cannot determine the forces during the impact process. The main objective of this work is to reformulate the impulse-momentum based model to determine the forces during an impact event, by relaxing the rigidity assumption to allow small deformations at the contact points.

Automated summary

When hard objects collide, there are abrupt changes in velocities characterized by large contact forces over small time durations. Current analysis models typically ignore time duration and deformations at contact points, focusing instead on impulse-momentum relationships to describe system velocities. This study aims to reformulate these models to consider small deformations at contact points and determine forces during collision events.