Angular momentum, kinetic energy, and generalized inertia forces for a gyrostat

Three theorems are formulated for dynamical analysis of a gyrostat system consisting of a rigid body carrying an axisymmetric rotor with axis fixed in the body. Motion of the system, which may be either holonomic or nonholonomic, is described in generalized coordinates. The theorems, involving angular momentum, kinetic energy, and generalized inertia force, simplify the attack on certain problems of interest. The theorems are applicable to some problems in road vehicle dynamics, with wheels acting as the rotors and wheel-roadway interaction describable by nonintegrable constraint equations.