Session: MSNDC-04/VIB-09-03: Nonlinear Dynamics of Systems and Structures

Paper Number: 117919

117919 - Exploring the Kuramoto Effect Using Multibody Simulation: Simscape Multibody Model of Metronomes on a Moving Platform 

 

The classic experiment of metronomes that synchronize when placed on a moving platform has been demonstrated many times [1] and dazzled many scientists and engineers in videos shared on social media. Coupled oscillators often refer to the Kuramoto model [2], which can be applied to many systems. It takes a modular simulation model to investigate what causes the phenomena, where physical effects, such as friction and other energy losses, can be added and adjusted to determine precisely which effect enables the metronomes to move synchronously. Using Simscape Multibody, a simulation model of metronomes was created. Individual physical effects were added, amplified, and removed until it was clear which physical effects were critical for the physical phenomenon. The example was extended to consider statistical variations of metronome hardware. Finally, the problem was extended to explore what happens if the platform has three degrees of freedom instead of one, and observed the effect it had on synchronization. The ability to do each of these tests virtually and to automate the variations and evaluation of the results using MATLAB scripts made it possible to explore a much larger design space than simply testing these effects on actual hardware.

Keywords: Kuramoto model, multibody, simulation

 

Presenting Author: Karanjodh Singh Meen MathWorks inc

Presenting Author Biography: Karanjodh Singh Meen has a MS in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University and BE form Punjab Engineering College, India. He specializes in the areas of control systems, system dynamics and robotics. In 2018, he joined Technical Support at MathWorks and later moved to the Application Engineering Group in 2019. He works with customers in automotive, medical device, industrial automation and aerospace industries specifically supporting workflows that involve modeling physical systems, designing controls and automatic code generation.

Authors:

Karanjodh Singh Meen MathWorks inc
Steve Miller MathWorks inc
Jan Janse Van Rensburg MathWorks inc