Flexible Body Models in Simscape Multibody

Lumped parameter and state-space methods for static, modal, and dynamic analysis

Please note -- in MATLAB R2018b and higher there are blocks that ship with Simscape Multibody for flexible body modeling. Please refer to:

• Flexible Rectangular Beam (as well as General Flexible Beam, Cylindrical Beam, and others)
• Reduced Order Flexible Solid (see blog post)
• General Flexible Plate

This file contains flexible beam models implemented in Simscape Multibody that use lumped parameter and finite element data approaches. It includes methods to compute static deflection, natural frequencies, plot mode shapes, and obtain the state-space representation from lumped parameter model.

Please read the README.md file to get started.

See this example to learn about flexible body models in Simscape Multibody libraries:

• https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/88992-simscape-multibody-reduced-order-flexible-cylinder

Use the "Download" button above to get files compatible with the latest release of MATLAB.

For earlier MATLAB releases, use "Version History" tab above or these links:

• R2025b, R2025a, R2024b, R2024a, R2023b, R2023a, R2022b, R2022a, R2021b, R2021a, R2020b, R2020a, R2019b, R2019a, R2018b, R2018a, R2017b, R2017a, R2016b, R2016a

Learn about modeling flexible bodies in Simscape Multibody

• https://www.mathworks.com/campaigns/offers/model-flexible-bodies.html

Learn how to use Simscape with

• Self-paced tutorials, including multi-domain systems, 3D mechanical systems, circuits, motors, and battery packs.
• Searching posts for the keyword "physical modeling".
• Stories from users: https://www.mathworks.com/solutions/physical-modeling.html