chrono::ChSystemDescriptor Class Reference

## Description

Base class for collecting objects inherited from ChConstraint , ChVariables and, optionally ChKblock.

These objects can be used to define a sparse representation of the system. This collector is important because it contains all the required information that is sent to a solver (usually a VI/CCP solver, or as a subcase, a linear solver). The problem is described by a variational inequality VI(Z*x-d,K):

| H -Cq'|*|q|- | f|= |0| , l Y, c Ny, normal cone to Y | Cq -E | |l| |-b| |c|

Also Z symmetric by flipping sign of l_i: |H Cq'|*| q|-| f|=|0| |Cq E | |-l| |-b| |c|

• case linear problem: all Y_i = R, Ny=0, ex. all bilaterals
• case LCP: all Y_i = R+: c>=0, l>=0, l*c=0
• case CCP: Y_i are friction cones Usually, H = M, the mass matrix, but in some cases, ex. when using implicit integrators, objects inherited from ChKblock can be added too, hence H could be H=a*M+b*K+c*R (but not all solvers handle ChKblock!) All solvers require that the description of the system is passed by means of a ChSystemDescriptor, where all constraints, variables, masses, known terms (ex.forces) are represented as sparse data that are objects inherited from ChConstraint or ChVariables. Within this default implementation, the ChSystemDescriptor simply contains vectors with pointers to the variables and constraints, but more advanced implementation (ex. for supporting parallel GPU solvers) could store constraints and variables structures with more efficient data schemes.

#include <ChSystemDescriptor.h>

Inherited by chrono::ChSystemDescriptorParallel.

## Public Member Functions

std::vector< ChConstraint * > & GetConstraintsList ()
Access the vector of constraints.

std::vector< ChVariables * > & GetVariablesList ()
Access the vector of variables.

std::vector< ChKblock * > & GetKblocksList ()
Access the vector of stiffness matrix blocks.

virtual void BeginInsertion ()
Begin insertion of items.

virtual void InsertConstraint (ChConstraint *mc)
Insert reference to a ChConstraint object.

virtual void InsertVariables (ChVariables *mv)
Insert reference to a ChVariables object.

virtual void InsertKblock (ChKblock *mk)
Insert reference to a ChKblock object (a piece of matrix)

virtual void EndInsertion ()
End insertion of items.

virtual int CountActiveVariables ()
Count & returns the scalar variables in the system (excluding ChVariable objects that have IsActive() as false). More...

virtual int CountActiveConstraints ()
Count & returns the scalar constraints in the system (excluding ChConstraint objects that have IsActive() as false). More...

virtual void UpdateCountsAndOffsets ()
Updates counts of scalar variables and scalar constraints, if you added/removed some item or if you switched some active state, otherwise CountActiveVariables() and CountActiveConstraints() might fail. More...

virtual void SetMassFactor (const double mc_a)
Sets the c_a coefficient (default=1) used for scaling the M masses of the vvariables when performing ShurComplementProduct(), SystemProduct(), ConvertToMatrixForm(),.

virtual double GetMassFactor ()
Gets the c_a coefficient (default=1) used for scaling the M masses of the vvariables when performing ShurComplementProduct(), SystemProduct(), ConvertToMatrixForm(),.

virtual int BuildFbVector (ChMatrix<> &Fvector)
Get a vector with all the 'fb' known terms ('forces'etc.) associated to all variables, ordered into a column vector. More...

virtual int BuildBiVector (ChMatrix<> &Bvector)
Get a vector with all the 'bi' known terms ('constraint residuals' etc.) associated to all constraints, ordered into a column vector. More...

virtual int BuildDiVector (ChMatrix<> &Dvector)
Get the d vector = {f; -b} with all the 'fb' and 'bi' known terms, as in Z*y-d (it is the concatenation of BuildFbVector and BuildBiVector) The column vector must be passed as a ChMatrix<> object, which will be automatically reset and resized to the proper length if necessary. More...

virtual int BuildDiagonalVector (ChMatrix<> &Diagonal_vect)
Get the D diagonal of the Z system matrix, as a single column vector (it includes all the diagonal masses of M, and all the diagonal E (-cfm) terms). More...

virtual int FromVariablesToVector (ChMatrix<> &mvector, bool resize_vector=true)
Using this function, one may get a vector with all the variables 'q' ordered into a column vector. More...

virtual int FromVectorToVariables (ChMatrix<> &mvector)
Using this function, one may go in the opposite direction of the FromVariablesToVector() function, i.e. More...

virtual int FromConstraintsToVector (ChMatrix<> &mvector, bool resize_vector=true)
Using this function, one may get a vector with all the constraint reactions 'l_i' ordered into a column vector. More...

virtual int FromVectorToConstraints (ChMatrix<> &mvector)
Using this function, one may go in the opposite direction of the FromConstraintsToVector() function, i.e. More...

virtual int FromUnknownsToVector (ChMatrix<> &mvector, bool resize_vector=true)
Using this function, one may get a vector with all the unknowns x={q,l} i.e. More...

virtual int FromVectorToUnknowns (ChMatrix<> &mvector)
Using this function, one may go in the opposite direction of the FromUnknownsToVector() function, i.e. More...

virtual void ShurComplementProduct (ChMatrix<> &result, ChMatrix<> *lvector, std::vector< bool > *enabled=0)
Performs the product of N, the Shur complement of the KKT matrix, by an l vector (if x not provided, use current lagrangian multipliers l_i), that is result = [N]*l = [ [Cq][M^(-1)][Cq'] - [E] ] * l where [Cq] are the jacobians, [M] is the mass matrix, [E] is the matrix of the optional cfm 'constraint force mixing' terms for compliant constraints. More...

virtual void SystemProduct (ChMatrix<> &result, ChMatrix<> *x)
Performs the product of the entire system matrix (KKT matrix), by a vector x ={q,l} (if x not provided, use values in current lagrangian multipliers l_i and current q variables) NOTE! the 'q' data in the ChVariables of the system descriptor is changed by this operation, so it may happen that you need to backup them via FromVariablesToVector() More...

virtual void ConstraintsProject (ChMatrix<> &multipliers)
Performs projecton of constraint multipliers onto allowed set (in case of bilateral constraints it does not affect multipliers, but for frictional constraints, for example, it projects multipliers onto the friction cones) Note! the 'l_i' data in the ChConstraints of the system descriptor are changed by this operation (they get the value of 'multipliers' after the projection), so it may happen that you need to backup them via FromConstraintToVector(). More...

virtual void UnknownsProject (ChMatrix<> &mx)
As ConstraintsProject(), but instead of passing the l vector, the entire vector of unknowns x={q,-l} is passed. More...

virtual void ComputeFeasabilityViolation (double &resulting_maxviolation, double &resulting_feasability)
The following (obsolete) function may be called after a solver's 'Solve()' operation has been performed. More...

Set the number of threads (some operations like ShurComplementProduct are CPU intensive, so they can be run in parallel threads). More...

virtual void ConvertToMatrixForm (ChSparseMatrix *Cq, ChSparseMatrix *H, ChSparseMatrix *E, ChMatrix<> *Fvector, ChMatrix<> *Bvector, ChMatrix<> *Frict, bool only_bilaterals=false, bool skip_contacts_uv=false)
The following function may be used to create the Jacobian and the mass matrix of the variational problem in matrix form, by assembling all the jacobians of all the constraints/contacts, all the mass matrices, all vectors, as they are currently stored in the sparse data of all ChConstraint and ChVariables contained in this ChSystemDescriptor. More...

virtual void ConvertToMatrixForm (ChSparseMatrix *Z, ChMatrix<> *rhs)
Create and return the assembled system matrix and RHS vector. More...

virtual void DumpLastMatrices (bool assembled=false, const char *path="")
Saves to disk the LAST used matrices of the problem. More...

virtual void ArchiveOUT (ChArchiveOut &marchive)

virtual void ArchiveIN (ChArchiveIn &marchive)
Method to allow de serialization of transient data from archives.

## Protected Attributes

std::vector< ChConstraint * > vconstraints

std::vector< ChVariables * > vvariables

std::vector< ChKblock * > vstiffness

ChSpinlock * spinlocktable

double c_a

## Member Function Documentation

 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::BuildBiVector ( ChMatrix<> & Bvector )
virtual

Get a vector with all the 'bi' known terms ('constraint residuals' etc.) associated to all constraints, ordered into a column vector.

The column vector must be passed as a ChMatrix<> object, which will be automatically reset and resized to the proper length if necessary.

Parameters
 Bvector matrix which will contain the entire vector of 'b'
 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::BuildDiagonalVector ( ChMatrix<> & Diagonal_vect )
virtual

Get the D diagonal of the Z system matrix, as a single column vector (it includes all the diagonal masses of M, and all the diagonal E (-cfm) terms).

The Diagonal_vect must already have the size of n. of unknowns, otherwise it will be resized if necessary).

Parameters
 Diagonal_vect matrix which will contain the entire vector of terms on M and E diagonal
 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::BuildDiVector ( ChMatrix<> & Dvector )
virtual

Get the d vector = {f; -b} with all the 'fb' and 'bi' known terms, as in Z*y-d (it is the concatenation of BuildFbVector and BuildBiVector) The column vector must be passed as a ChMatrix<> object, which will be automatically reset and resized to the proper length if necessary.

Parameters
 Dvector matrix which will contain the entire vector of {f;-b}
 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::BuildFbVector ( ChMatrix<> & Fvector )
virtual

Get a vector with all the 'fb' known terms ('forces'etc.) associated to all variables, ordered into a column vector.

The column vector must be passed as a ChMatrix<> object, which will be automatically reset and resized to the proper length if necessary.

Parameters
 Fvector matrix which will contain the entire vector of 'f'
 void chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::ComputeFeasabilityViolation ( double & resulting_maxviolation, double & resulting_feasability )
virtual

The following (obsolete) function may be called after a solver's 'Solve()' operation has been performed.

This gives an estimate of 'how good' the solver had been in finding the proper solution. Resulting estimates are passed as references in member arguments.

Parameters
 resulting_maxviolation gets the max constraint violation (either bi- and unilateral.) resulting_feasability gets the max feasability as max |l*c| , for unilateral only
 void chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::ConstraintsProject ( ChMatrix<> & multipliers )
virtual

Performs projecton of constraint multipliers onto allowed set (in case of bilateral constraints it does not affect multipliers, but for frictional constraints, for example, it projects multipliers onto the friction cones) Note! the 'l_i' data in the ChConstraints of the system descriptor are changed by this operation (they get the value of 'multipliers' after the projection), so it may happen that you need to backup them via FromConstraintToVector().

Parameters
 multipliers matrix which contains the entire vector of 'l_i' multipliers to be projected
 void chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::ConvertToMatrixForm ( ChSparseMatrix * Cq, ChSparseMatrix * H, ChSparseMatrix * E, ChMatrix<> * Fvector, ChMatrix<> * Bvector, ChMatrix<> * Frict, bool only_bilaterals = false, bool skip_contacts_uv = false )
virtual

The following function may be used to create the Jacobian and the mass matrix of the variational problem in matrix form, by assembling all the jacobians of all the constraints/contacts, all the mass matrices, all vectors, as they are currently stored in the sparse data of all ChConstraint and ChVariables contained in this ChSystemDescriptor.

The matrices define the VI variational inequality:

| H -Cq'|*|q|- | f|= |0| , l Y (es friction cone), c normal cone to Y | Cq -E | |l| |-b| |c| (case no friction: LCP c>=0, l>=0, l*c=0;) (case only bilaterals: linear system, c=0)

also symmetrizable by flipping the sign of l_i terms: | H Cq'|*| q|- | f|= |0| | Cq -E | |-l| |-b| |C| Note 1: most often you'll call ConvertToMatrixForm() right after a dynamic simulation timestep, because the system matrices are properly initialized, Note 2: when using Anitescu default stepper, the 'f' vector contains forces*timestep = F*dt Note 3: when using Anitescu default stepper, q represents the 'delta speed', Note 4: when using Anitescu default stepper, b represents the dt/phi stabilization term. Note 5: usually, H = M, the mass matrix, but in some cases, ex. when using implicit integrators, objects inherited from ChKblock can be added too, hence H could be H=a*M+b*K+c*R This can be useful for debugging, data dumping, and similar purposes (most solvers avoid using these matrices, for performance), for example you will load these matrices in Matlab. Optionally, tangential (u,v) contact jacobians may be skipped, or only bilaterals can be considered The matrices and vectors are automatically resized if needed.

Parameters
 Cq fill this system jacobian matrix, if not null H fill this system H (mass+stiffness+damp) matrix, if not null E fill this system 'compliance' matrix , if not null Fvector fill this vector as the known term 'f', if not null Bvector fill this vector as the known term 'b', if not null Frict fill as a vector with friction coefficients (=-1 for only_bilaterals tangent comp.; =-2 for bilaterals), if not null
 void chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::ConvertToMatrixForm ( ChSparseMatrix * Z, ChMatrix<> * rhs )
virtual

Create and return the assembled system matrix and RHS vector.

Parameters
 [out] Z assembled system matrix [out] rhs assembled RHS vector
 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::CountActiveConstraints ( )
virtual

Count & returns the scalar constraints in the system (excluding ChConstraint objects that have IsActive() as false).

Note: this function also updates the offsets of all constraints in 'l' global vector (see GetOffset() in ChConstraint).

 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::CountActiveVariables ( )
virtual

Count & returns the scalar variables in the system (excluding ChVariable objects that have IsActive() as false).

Note: the number of scalar variables is not necessarily the number of inserted ChVariable objects, some could be inactive. Note: this function also updates the offsets of all variables in 'q' global vector (see GetOffset() in ChVariables).

 void chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::DumpLastMatrices ( bool assembled = false, const char * path = "" )
virtual

Saves to disk the LAST used matrices of the problem.

If assembled == true, dump_Z.dat has the assembled optimization matrix (Matlab sparse format) dump_rhs.dat has the assembled RHS Otherwise, dump_H.dat has masses and/or stiffness (Matlab sparse format) dump_Cq.dat has the jacobians (Matlab sparse format) dump_E.dat has the constr.compliance (Matlab sparse format) dump_f.dat has the applied loads dump_b.dat has the constraint rhs

 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::FromConstraintsToVector ( ChMatrix<> & mvector, bool resize_vector = true )
virtual

Using this function, one may get a vector with all the constraint reactions 'l_i' ordered into a column vector.

The column vector must be passed as a ChMatrix<> object, which will be automatically reset and resized to the proper length if necessary (but uf you are sure that the vector has already the proper size, you can optimize the performance a bit by setting resize_vector as false). Optionally, you can pass an 'enabled' vector of bools, that must have the same length of the l_i reactions vector; constraints with enabled=false are not handled.

Returns
the number of scalar constr.multipliers (i.e. the rows of the column vector).
Parameters
 mvector matrix which will contain the entire vector of 'l_i' resize_vector if true the vector size will be checked & resized if necessary
 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::FromUnknownsToVector ( ChMatrix<> & mvector, bool resize_vector = true )
virtual

Using this function, one may get a vector with all the unknowns x={q,l} i.e.

q variables & l_i constr. ordered into a column vector. The column vector must be passed as a ChMatrix<> object, which will be automatically reset and resized to the proper length if necessary (but if you are sure that the vector has already the proper size, you can optimize the performance a bit by setting resize_vector as false).

Returns
the number of scalar unknowns
Parameters
 mvector matrix which will contain the entire vector x={q,l} resize_vector if true the vector size will be checked & resized if necessary
 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::FromVariablesToVector ( ChMatrix<> & mvector, bool resize_vector = true )
virtual

Using this function, one may get a vector with all the variables 'q' ordered into a column vector.

The column vector must be passed as a ChMatrix<> object, which will be automatically reset and resized to the proper length if necessary (but if you are sure that the vector has already the proper size, you can optimize the performance a bit by setting resize_vector as false).

Returns
the number of scalar variables (i.e. the rows of the column vector).
Parameters
 mvector matrix which will contain the entire vector of 'q' resize_vector if true the vector size will be checked & resized if necessary
 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::FromVectorToConstraints ( ChMatrix<> & mvector )
virtual

Using this function, one may go in the opposite direction of the FromConstraintsToVector() function, i.e.

one gives a vector with all the constr.reactions 'l_i' ordered into a column vector, and the constraint objects are updated according to these values. Optionally, you can pass an 'enabled' vector of bools, that must have the same length of the l_i reactions vector; constraints with enabled=false are not handled. NOTE!!! differently from FromConstraintsToVector(), which always works, this function will fail if mvector does not match the amount and ordering of the variable objects!!! (it is up to the user to check this!) btw: most often, this is called after FromConstraintsToVector() to do a kind of 'undo', for example.

Returns
the number of scalar constraint multipliers (i.e. the rows of the column vector).
Parameters
 mvector matrix which contains the entire vector of 'l_i'
 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::FromVectorToUnknowns ( ChMatrix<> & mvector )
virtual

Using this function, one may go in the opposite direction of the FromUnknownsToVector() function, i.e.

one gives a vector with all the unknowns x={q,l} ordered into a column vector, and the variables q and constr.multipliers l objects are updated according to these values. NOTE!!! differently from FromUnknownsToVector(), which always works, this function will fail if mvector does not match the amount and ordering of the variable and constraint objects!!! (it is up to the user to check this!)

Parameters
 mvector matrix which contains the entire vector x={q,l}
 int chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::FromVectorToVariables ( ChMatrix<> & mvector )
virtual

Using this function, one may go in the opposite direction of the FromVariablesToVector() function, i.e.

one gives a vector with all the variables 'q' ordered into a column vector, and the variables objects are updated according to these values. NOTE!!! differently from FromVariablesToVector(), which always works, this function will fail if mvector does not match the amount and ordering of the variable objects!!! (it is up to the user to check this!) btw: most often, this is called after FromVariablesToVector() to do a kind of 'undo', for example.

Returns
the number of scalar variables (i.e. the rows of the column vector).
Parameters
 mvector matrix which contains the entire vector of 'q'
virtual

Set the number of threads (some operations like ShurComplementProduct are CPU intensive, so they can be run in parallel threads).

By default, the number of threads is the same of max.available OpenMP cores

 void chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::ShurComplementProduct ( ChMatrix<> & result, ChMatrix<> * lvector, std::vector< bool > * enabled = 0 )
virtual

Performs the product of N, the Shur complement of the KKT matrix, by an l vector (if x not provided, use current lagrangian multipliers l_i), that is result = [N]*l = [ [Cq][M^(-1)][Cq'] - [E] ] * l where [Cq] are the jacobians, [M] is the mass matrix, [E] is the matrix of the optional cfm 'constraint force mixing' terms for compliant constraints.

The N matrix is not built explicitly, to exploit sparsity, it is described by the inserted constraints and inserted variables. Optionally, you can pass an 'enabled' vector of bools, that must have the same length of the l_i reactions vector; constraints with enabled=false are not handled. NOTE! the 'q' data in the ChVariables of the system descriptor is changed by this operation, so it may happen that you need to backup them via FromVariablesToVector() NOTE! currently this function does NOT support the cases that use also ChKblock objects, because it would need to invert the global M+K, that is not diagonal, for doing = [N]*l = [ [Cq][(M+K)^(-1)][Cq'] - [E] ] * l

Parameters
 result matrix which contains the result of N*l_i lvector optional matrix with the vector to be multiplied (if enabled null, use current constr. multipliers l_i) optional: vector of enable flags, one per scalar constraint. true=enable, false=disable (skip)
 void chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::SystemProduct ( ChMatrix<> & result, ChMatrix<> * x )
virtual

Performs the product of the entire system matrix (KKT matrix), by a vector x ={q,l} (if x not provided, use values in current lagrangian multipliers l_i and current q variables) NOTE! the 'q' data in the ChVariables of the system descriptor is changed by this operation, so it may happen that you need to backup them via FromVariablesToVector()

Parameters
 result matrix which contains the result of matrix by x x optional matrix with the vector to be multiplied (if null, use current l_i and q)
 void chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::UnknownsProject ( ChMatrix<> & mx )
virtual

As ConstraintsProject(), but instead of passing the l vector, the entire vector of unknowns x={q,-l} is passed.

Note! the 'l_i' data in the ChConstraints of the system descriptor are changed by this operation (they get the value of 'multipliers' after the projection), so it may happen that you need to backup them via FromConstraintToVector().

Parameters
 mx matrix which contains the entire vector of unknowns x={q,-l} (only the l part is projected)
 void chrono::ChSystemDescriptor::UpdateCountsAndOffsets ( )
virtual

Updates counts of scalar variables and scalar constraints, if you added/removed some item or if you switched some active state, otherwise CountActiveVariables() and CountActiveConstraints() might fail.