Handling the Normal Component in Frictionless Collision Sequences With Central Impact

Abstract

A common assumption for rigid body collisions with multiple impact points is that all collisions occur simultaneously and are synchronized in their compression/expansion behavior, a useful assumption given the microscopic time-scale at which collisions occur. In case collisions are dependent on one another, however, there is interaction between and within compression and expansion phases. Instead of a pairwise evaluation of collisions or simultaneous activation of all collision constraints, a rule is presented that orders the collisions as a sequence of interacting events at a point in time to handle the normal component of the velocities.