Hamel coefficients for the rotational motion of a rigid body

A Lagrangean treatment of various forms of the rigid body equations of motion is presented in this paper, including the most general expressions, which are the Boltzmann-Hamel equations. One key result that enables the derivations is the expression for the Hamel coefficients for the special case of rotational motion of a rigid body. The Hamel coefficients naturally arise in the Lagrange equations for quasi-coordinates. Another key result that enables the derivations is the expression for additional Hamel coefficients that arise when the translational velocity vector of the mass center is expressed in a non-inertial reference frame. One interesting discovery is that the Boltzmann-Hamel equations are often misrepresented in standard textbooks. The misrepresentation stems from the fact that care is not exercised to distinguish the functional forms of the kinetic energy expression.

Hamel coefficients for the rotational motion of a rigid body Conference Paper