In this paper we discuss a theoretical technique for decomposing multi-degree-of-freedom weakly nonlinear systems into a simpler form — an approach which has parallels with the well know method for linear modal analysis. The key outcome is that the system resonances, both linear and nonlinear are revealed by the transformation process. For each resonance, parameters can be obtained which characterise the backbone curves, and higher harmonic components of the response. The underlying mathematical technique is based on a near identity normal form transformation. This is an established technique for analysing weakly nonlinear vibrating systems, but in this approach we use a variation of the method for systems of equations written in second-order form. This is a much more natural approach for structural dynamics where the governing equations of motion are written in this form as standard practice. In fact the first step in the method is to carry out a linear modal transformation using linear modes as would typically done for a linear system. The near identity transform is then applied as a second step in the process and one which identifies the nonlinear resonances in the system being considered. For an example system with cubic nonlinearities, we show how the resulting transformed equations can be used to obtain a time independent representation of the system response. We will discuss how the analysis can be carried out with applied forcing, and how the approximations about response frequencies, made during the near-identity transformation, affect the accuracy of the technique. In fact we show that the second-order normal form approach can actually improve the predictions of sub- and super-harmonic responses. Finally we comment on how this theoretical technique could be used as part of a modal testing approach in future work.
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