Analysis and Computation of Two Body Impact in Three Dimensions

A formal impulse-based analysis is presented for the collision of two rigid bodies at single contact point under Coulomb's friction in three dimensions (3D). The tangential impulse at the contact is known to be linear in the sliding velocity whose trajectory, parametrized with the normal impulse and referred to as the hodograph, is governed by a generally nonintegrable ordinary differential equation (ODE). Evolution of the hodograph is bounded by rays in several invariant directions of sliding in the contact plane. Exact lower and upper bounds are derived for the number of such invariant directions, utilizing the established positive definiteness of the matrix defining the governing ODE. If the hodograph reaches the origin, it either terminates (i.e., the contact sticks) or continues in a new direction (i.e., the contact resumes sliding) whose existence and uniqueness, only assumed in the literature, are proven. Closed-form integration of the ODE becomes possible as soon as the sliding velocity turns zero or takes on an invariant direction. Assuming Stronge's energy-based restitution, a complete algorithm is described to combine fast numerical integration (NI) with a case-by-case closed-form analysis. A number of solved collision instances are presented. It remains open whether the modeled impact process will always terminate under Coulomb's friction and Stronge's (or Poisson's) restitution hypothesis.