MBDyn — The Complete Guide: Free Multibody Dynamics, Including Flexible Bodies
MBDyn is an open-source (GPL) solver for multibody system dynamics, developed at the Politecnico di Milano. While most free FEA tools examine one body under a load, MBDyn answers the opposite question: how a system of connected bodies moves over time.
MBDyn — Multibody Dynamics
Politecnico di Milano
Solver for the dynamics of multibody mechanical systems, including flexible bodies and aeronautical systems.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Mechanisms and joints — a broad library of joints and constraints between bodies.
- Flexible bodies — flexible beams and rigid bodies in the same system.
- Typical systems — suspensions, drivetrains, gearboxes and rotors.
- Aeroelasticity — analysis of helicopter rotor blades and wind turbines is among its signature uses.
- Coupling — the option to connect it to external solvers and controllers.
What to know
MBDyn works from a text input file with no graphical interface, and runs mainly on Linux. The learning curve is steep, and it is used mostly in aeronautical research and academia. If you want a drag-and-drop dynamic model or robot simulation, other tools are more convenient.
Related tools
For modelling multi-domain dynamic systems — OpenModelica. For fast robot and contact simulation — MuJoCo. For wind turbines — OpenFAST and QBlade.
OpenModelica
Open Source Modelica Consortium
Simulate multi-domain physical systems with the Modelica language.
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MuJoCo
Google DeepMind
A fast physics engine for robotics, biomechanics and machine learning.
Get it from the vendor
OpenFAST
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Aeroelastic simulation of wind turbines, from NREL.
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QBlade Community Edition
QBlade (originally TU Berlin, Hermann-Föttinger-Institut)
Aero-servo-hydro-elastic wind turbine simulation. The Community Edition is free for non-commercial use only.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
MBDyn is a powerful, free research tool for multibody dynamics, especially when flexibility and aerodynamics come into the picture.