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Solid Cylinder Rolling Down an Incline

This example shows how to create a system that models a wheel rolling down an inclined plane by using the Spatial Contact Force block.

Model a Rolling Wheel

To create a new Simscape™ Multibody™ model, at the MATLAB® command prompt, enter:

smnew
Save your model.

In the model, add:

Delete Scope, PS-Simulink Converter, and Simulink-PS Converter blocks. Rename and connect the blocks as showing in following figure.

Assign these properties to Wheel Location:

PropertyValue
Rotation > MethodAligned Axes
Rotation > Pair 1 > Follower+Z
Rotation > Pair 1 > Base-Y
Rotation > Pair 2 > Follower+X
Rotation > Pair 2 > Base+X
Translation > MethodNone

Assign these properties to Ramp Incline:

PropertyValue
Rotation > MethodStandard Axis
Rotation > Axis+Y
Rotation > Angle5 deg
Translation > MethodCartesian
Translation > Offset[30 0 -15] cm

Assign these properties to Cylindrical Wheel:

PropertyValue
Geometry > Radius5 cm
Geometry > Length4 cm
Geometry > Export > Entire Geometryselected
Inertia > TypeCalculate from Geometry
Inertia > Based onDensity
Inertia > Density650 kg/m^3
Graphic > TypeFrom Geometry
Graphic > Visual PropertiesSimple
Graphic > Visual Properties > Color[0.6 0.0 0.0]
Graphic > Visual Properties > Opacity1.0
Frames > Show Port Rselected

Assign these properties Inclined Plane:

PropertyValue
Geometry > Dimensions[90 20 5] cm
Geometry > Export > Entire Geometryselected
Inertia > TypeCalculate from Geometry
Inertia > Based onDensity
Inertia > Density1000 kg/m^3
Graphic > TypeFrom Geometry
Graphic > Visual PropertiesSimple
Graphic > Visual Properties > Color[0.4196 0.5569 0.1373]
Graphic > Visual Properties > Opacity1.0
Frames > Show Port Rselected

Assign these properties to Contact Force:

PropertyValue
Normal Force > Stiffness1e6 N/m
Normal Force > Damping1e3 N/(m/s)
Normal Force > Normal Force: Transition Region Width1e-4 m
Frictional Force > MethodSmooth Stick-Slip
Frictional Force > Coefficient of Static Friction0.3
Frictional Force > Coefficient of Dynamic Friction0.3
Frictional Force > Critical Velocity0.01 m/s
Sensing > Separation Distanceunselected
Sensing > Normal Forceunselected
Sensing > Frictional Force Magnitudeunselected

On the Modeling tab, select Model Settings > Model Settings to open the Configuration Parameters. In the Solver pane, under Solver details, update the following:

Max step size:1e-3
Absolute tolerance:1e-3

At this point, both the Cylindrical Wheel block and Inclined Plane block should have a geometry port. As shown in the figure, connect the geometry ports of the Inclined Plane and Cylindrical Wheel blocks to the base and follower ports of the Spatial Contact Force block, respectively.

On the Simulation tab, click Run. In the MATLAB window, the Mechanics Explorer pane opens, and you see the cylindrical wheel roll down the surface. For a more complicated model, see Using the Spatial Contact Force Block - Bumper Car.

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