About the Symplectic Euler Integrator

The Symplectic Euler integrator computes force trajectories during a dynamics simulation by interpolating the user values specified at specific time steps.

This page discusses:

See Also
About the Symplectic Euler Integrator
In Other Guides
Managing Contacts

Characteristics

During a dynamics simulation, the Symplectic Euler integrator calculates system equations generated from the mechanism model. It also computes force trajectories by interpolating the values specified by the user at specific time steps.

The selection of an integrator depends on various simulation criteria, including the simulation stability, the integrator performance, and the accuracy of results. For more information on the DASSL integrator, see About the Symplectic Euler Integrator.

Note: During the simulation of a force or acceleration probe, the result curve can display fluctuations. To generate a smooth curve in the Plot tab of the View Scenario Results command, decrease the Max force or acceleration value. It is possible to use the Min value as the Max value. For more information on scenario results, see Mechanical Systems Experience User's Guide: Reviewing Scenario Results.

Time Parameters

To specify the Symplectic Euler parameters, do one of the following:

  • Open the Play Parameters dialog box. For more information, see Playing Mechanism Using the Compass.
  • Open the Parameters section of the Dynamics Scenario dialog box. For more information, see Mechanical Systems Experience User's Guide: Creating a Dynamics Scenario.

The default values for the time parameters are the following:

  • Min TimeStep: 1e-005s
  • Max TimeStep: 0.01s

During a kinematics or a dynamics simulation, the value of the Result Time Step determines the result sampling. The quality of the animation and the accuracy of the result depend on the result sampling.

Contact Management

The Symplectic Euler integrator is adapted to the computation of intermittent contacts between two bodies. According to the complexity of the dynamics simulation, the integrator can adapt the time step. During the simulation, the kinetic energy is preserved.

During a dynamics simulation, contacts are computed using the Restitution Contact Model. For more information, see Mechanical Systems Experience User's Guide: About Contacts.

Important: Before launching a dynamics simulation, specify a mass and an inertia for every body that is not fixed.

The default value of the Penetration Max is 0.15mm.