NAFEMS Launches Focus Team on Real-Time Multibody Dynamics and Universal Model Exchange

First meeting scheduled for 10 November 2026 — open to industry practitioners, software developers, and researchers.

3-minute read

As multibody simulation moves beyond conventional engineering analysis into interactive applications, virtual prototyping, operator training, robotics, and digital twins, new challenges are emerging. These include a growing demand for computational performance, reliable physical behavior, and interoperability between simulation platforms in multibody simulation

To address these challenges, the NAFEMS Multibody Dynamics Working Group (MBDWG) has established a new Focus Team . The team will concentrate specifically on Real-Time Multibody Dynamics (MB-RT) and the development of a Universal Multibody Format (UMBF).

Bringing together software vendors, industrial users, and academic researchers to investigate challenges through practical benchmarks and collaborative technical discussions is a key aim of the Focus Team.

Benchmarking Real-Time Multibody Dynamics

Real-time simulation is no longer simply a question of computational speed. Engineering applications increasingly demand numerical accuracy, stability, robustness, and predictable execution times.

The Focus Team will investigate benchmark methodologies that assess:

• Computational performance and real-time deadline compliance
• Numerical accuracy and constraint satisfaction
• Stability and energy behavior
• Physical fidelity under nonlinear forces, contacts, and interactive operating conditions
• Reproducibility and comparability across different simulation platforms

The first objective is not to identify a single best solver, but to establish transparent, technically meaningful methods for assessing the capabilities and limitations of different simulation approaches.

Towards a Universal Multibody Format

A second objective is to investigate the feasibility and requirements of a solver-independent description of multibody models.

Today, transferring a complex MBD model between simulation platforms often requires substantial manual reconstruction or dedicated translation tools.

The proposed UMBF initiative aims to identify which engineering information can be represented consistently across platforms, including geometry, inertia, constraints, force elements, parameters, nonlinear behavior, and control interfaces.

The Focus Team recognizes that differences in solver formulations and proprietary features present significant challenges. Rather than assuming perfect interoperability, it intends to investigate what can be transferred, where approximations are necessary, and how to verify model equivalence.

A common model description need not imply identical numerical solver implementations.

An Open Invitation to the MBD Community

The two initiatives are closely connected. A common physical model description could provide a foundation for reproducible cross-solver benchmarks, while benchmarking can help identify the practical requirements and limitations of model exchange.

The Focus Team will hold its first meeting on 10 November 2026, initiating discussions on benchmark requirements, candidate demonstration models, model exchange, and potential contributions from the international MBD community.

Chris Verheul of Sayfield International chairs the initiative under the NAFEMS Multibody Dynamics Working Group.

Software developers, engineering organizations, researchers, and interested MBD practitioners are encouraged to participate and contribute their expertise.

Further information: NAFEMS Real-Time Multibody Dynamics and Universal Multibody Format Focus Team