Stability of Manifold of Equilibrium States for Nonholonomic Systems in Relative Motion

The stability of manifold of equilibrium states for a class of nonholonomic systems in relative motion is studied. The Voronets equations and their canonical forms for dynamics of relative motion of the nonholonomic systems are established. The equations of relative equilibrium for the systems are given, and some criteria of the stability for the manifold of relative equilibrium states are obtained. An example is given to illustrate the application of the results.