Motion of a System Consisting of a String and Rigid Bodies at Its End

In this paper we discuss about motion of a system consisting of a string and rigid bodies at its end. A tethered subsatellite in space is known as an example of this system. The string in planar motion is described by using Absolute NodaI Coordinate method. In this method, it is easy to describe the motion of the string with a large deformation, rotation and translation displacement. The string motion influences the motion of the rigid bodies. In other words, the connection point is constrained by the end of the string. Therefore the motion of the system is calculated using differential algebraic equations. First, the motion of the string with a large deformation, rotation and translation displacement is simulated for a simple case. The numerical results agreed with the experimental results qualitatively. Second, the simulations for the some cases of a string with rigid bodies, a string that doesn't have deflection with rigid bodies, and a string with a simple mass are performed. In these cases, an end of the string moves horizontally. As a result, the mechanism of the interaction between the string deflection and the rigid bodies rotation is made clear numerically.