Near-resonant dynamics, period doubling and chaos of a 3-DOF vibro-impact system

A mechanical system composed of two weakly coupled oscillators under harmonic excitation is considered. Its main part is a vibro-impact unit composed of a linear oscillator with an internally colliding small block. This block is coupled with the secondary part being a damped linear oscillator. The mathematical model of the system has been presented in a non-dimensional form. The analytical studies are restricted to the case of a periodic steady-state motion with two symmetric impacts per cycle near 1:1 resonance. The multiple scales method combined with the sawtooth-function-based modelling of the non-smooth dynamics is employed. A conception of the stability analysis of the periodic motions suited for this theoretical approach is presented. The frequency–response curves and force–response curves with stable and unstable branches are determined, and the interplay between various model parameters is investigated. The theoretical predictions related to the motion amplitude and the range of stability of the periodic steady-state response are verified via a series of numerical experiments and computation of Lyapunov exponents. Finally, the limitations and extensibility of the approach are discussed.

Free Response of a Rotational Nonlinear Energy Sink Coupled to a Linear Oscillator: Fractality, Riddling, and Initial-Condition Sensitivity at Intermediate Initial Displacements

Free response of a rotational nonlinear energy sink (NES) inertially coupled to a linear oscillator is investigated for dimensionless initial rectilinear displacements ranging from just above the smallest amplitude at which nonrotating, harmonically rectilinear motion is unstable absent direct rectilinear damping, up to the next-largest amplitude at which such motion is orbitally stable. With motionless initial conditions (MICs), i.e., initial velocity of the primary mass and initial angular velocity of the NES mass both zero, predicted behavior for two previously investigated combinations of the dimensionless parameters (characterizing rotational damping, and coupling of rectilinear and rotational motions) differs strongly from that found at smaller initial displacements (2021, J. Appl. Mech. 88, 011005). For both combinations, a wide range of MICs leads to solutions displaying transient chaos and depending sensitively on initial conditions, giving rise to fractality and riddling in the relationship between initial conditions and asymptotic solutions. Absent direct rectilinear damping of the linear oscillator, for one combination of parameters there exists a wide range of MICs with trajectories leading to time-harmonic, orbitally stable “quot;special”quot; solutions with a single amplitude, but no MICs are found for which all initial energy is dissipated. For the other combination, no such special solutions are found, but there exist MICs for which all initial energy is dissipated. With direct rectilinear damping, sensitivity extends to a measure of settling time, which can be extremely sensitive to initial conditions. A statistical approach to this sensitivity is discussed, along with implications for design and implementation.