Adapting simulation codes to compute unstable solutions and bifurcation behaviour

Simulation codes for solving large systems of ordinary differential equations suffer from the disadvantage that bifurcation‐theoretic results about the underlying dynamical system cannot be obtained from them easily, if at all. Bifurcation behaviour typically can be inferred only after significant computational effort, and even then the exact location and nature of the bifurcation cannot always be determined definitively. By incorporating relatively minor changes to an existing simulation code for the Taylor–Couette problem, specifically, by implementing the Newton–Picard method, we have developed a computational structure that enables us to overcome some of the inherent limitations of the simulation code and begin to perform bifurcation‐theoretic tasks. While a complete bifurcation picture was not developed, three distinct solution branches of the Taylor–Couette problem were analysed. These branches exhibit a wide variety of behaviours, including Hopf bifurcation points, symmetry‐breaking bifurcation points, turning points and bifurcation to motion on a torus. Unstable equilibrium and time‐periodic solutions were also computed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finite element analysis of post-buckling dynamics in plates—Part I: An asymptotic approach

Various static and dynamic aspects of post-buckled thin plates, including the transition of buckled patterns, post-buckling dynamics, secondary bifurcation, and dynamic snapping (mode jumping phenomenon), are investigated systematically using asymptotical and non-stationary finite element methods. In part I, the secondary dynamic instability and the local post-secondary buckling behavior of thin rectangular plates under generalized (mechanical and thermal) loading is investigated using an asymptotic numerical method which combines Koiter’s nonlinear instability theory with the finite element technique. A dynamic multi-mode reduction method—similar to its static single-mode counterpart: Liapunov–Schmidt reduction—is developed in this perturbation approach. Post-secondary buckling equilibrium branches are obtained by solving the reduced low-dimensional parametric equations and their stability properties are determined directly by checking the eigenvalues of the resulting Jacobian matrix. Typical post-secondary buckling forms—transcritical, supercritical and subcritical bifurcations are observed according to different combinations of boundary conditions and load types. Geometric imperfection analysis shows that not only the secondary bifurcation load but also changes in the fundamental post-secondary buckling behavior are affected. The post-buckling dynamics and the global analysis of mode jumping of the plates are addressed in part II.     

An algorithm for the computation of multiple Hopf bifurcation points based on Pade approximants

Recently, a numerical method was proposed to compute a Hopf bifurcation point in fluid mechanics. This numerical method associates a bifurcation indicator and a Newton method. The former gives initial guesses to the iterative method. These initial values are the minima of the bifurcation indicator. However, sometimes, these minima do not lead to the convergence of the Newton method. Moreover, as only a single initial guess is obtained for each computation of the indicator, the computational time to obtain a Hopf bifurcation point can be quite long. The present algorithm is an enhancement of the previous one. It consists in automatically computing several initial guesses for each indicator curve. The majority of these initial values leads to the convergence of the Newton method. This method is evaluated through the problem of the lid‐driven cavity with several aspect ratios in the framework of the finite element analysis of the 2D Navier–Stokes equations. The results prove the efficiency and the robustness of the proposed algorithm. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Axisymmetric static and dynamic buckling of hollow microspheres

Syntactic foams are particulate composites that are obtained by dispersing thin hollow inclusions in a matrix material. The wide spectrum of applications of these composites in naval and aerospace structures has fostered a multitude of theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies on the mechanical behavior of syntactic foams and their constituents. In this work, we study static and dynamic axisymmetric buckling of single hollow spherical particles modeled as non-linear thin shells. Specifically, we compare theoretical predictions obtained by using Donnell, Sanders–Koiter, and Teng–Hong non-linear shell theories. The equations of motion of the particle are obtained from Hamilton׳s principle, and the Galerkin method is used to formulate a tractable non-linear system of coupled ordinary differential equations. An iterative solution procedure based on the modified Newton–Raphson method is developed to estimate the critical static load of the microballoon, and alternative methodologies of reduced complexity are further discussed. For dynamic buckling analysis, a Newmark-type integration scheme is integrated with the modified Newton–Raphson method to evaluate the transient response of the shell. Results are specialized to glass particles, and a parametric study is conducted to investigate the effect of microballoon wall thickness on the predictions of the selected non-linear shell theories. Comparison with finite element predictions demonstrates that Sanders–Koiter theory provides accurate estimates of the static critical load for a wide set of particle wall thicknesses. On the other hand, Donnell and Teng–Hong theories should be considered valid only for very thin particles, with the latter theory generally providing better agreement with finite element findings due to its more complete kinematics. In this context, we also demonstrate that a full non-linear analysis is required when considering thicker shells, while simplified treatment can be utilized for thin particles. For dynamic buckling, we confirm the accuracy of Sanders–Koiter theory for all the considered particle thicknesses and of Teng–Hong and Donnell theories for very thin particles.     

Homogeneous Equilibrium Configurations of a Hyperelastic Compressible Cube under Equitriaxial Dead-Load Tractions

Non-uniqueness, bifurcation and stability of homogeneous solutions to the equilibrium problem of a hyperelastic cube subject to equitriaxial dead-load tractions are investigated. Besides the basic and theoretical questions raised by the analysis, the study is motivated by the somewhat surprising feature of this nonlinear problem for which the symmetric load may give rise to asymmetric stable deformations. In reality, the equilibrium problem, formulated for general homogeneous compressible isotropic materials with polyconvex energy function, may exhibit primary and secondary bifurcations. A primary bifurcation occurs when there exist paths of equilibrium states that bifurcate from the primary path of three equal principal stretches. These bifurcation branches have two coinciding stretches and along them, through secondary bifurcations, other completely asymmetric bifurcation branches, which are characterized by all three stretches different, may risen. In this case, the cube transforms into an oblique parallelepiped. With increasing loads, they are also possible discontinuous paths of equilibria which evince prompt jumps in the deformation process. Of course, the set of asymmetric solutions admitted by the equilibrium problem depends on the specific form of the stored energy function adopted. In this paper, expressions governing the global development of asymmetric equilibrium branches are derived. In particular, conditions to have bifurcation points are individualized. For compressible neo-Hookean and Mooney-Rivlin materials a wide parametric analysis is carried out showing by means of graphs the most interesting branches. Finally, using the energy criterion, a detailed study is performed to assess the stability of the computed solutions.      

Nonlinear thermo-elastic buckling characteristics of cross-ply laminated joined conical–cylindrical shells

Here, the nonlinear thermo-elastic buckling/post-buckling characteristics of laminated circular conical–cylindrical/conical–cylindrical–conical joined shells subjected to uniform temperature rise are studied employing semi-analytical finite element approach. The nonlinear governing equations, considering geometric nonlinearity based on von Karman’s assumption for moderately large deformation, are solved using Newton–Raphson iteration procedure coupled with displacement control method to trace the pre-buckling/post-buckling equilibrium path. The presence of asymmetric perturbation in the form of small magnitude load spatially proportional to the linear buckling mode shape is assumed to initiate the bifurcation of the shell deformation. The study is carried out to highlight the influences of semi-cone angle, material properties and number of circumferential waves on the nonlinear thermo-elastic response of the different joined shell systems.     

Modified slow-fast analysis method for slow-fast dynamical systems with two scales in frequency domain

A modified slow-fast analysis method is presented for the periodically excited non-autonomous dynamical system with an order gap between the exciting frequency and the natural frequency. By regarding the exciting term as a slow-varying parameter, a generalized autonomous fast subsystem can be defined, the equilibrium branches as well as the bifurcations of which can be employed to account for the mechanism of the bursting oscillations by combining the transformed phase portrait introduced. As an example, a typical periodically excited Hartley model is used to demonstrate the validness of the method, in which the exciting frequency is far less than the natural frequency. The equilibrium branches and their bifurcations of the fast subsystem with the variation of the slow-varying parameter are presented. Bursting oscillations for two typical cases are considered, which reveals that, fold bifurcation may cause the the trajectory to jump between different equilibrium branches, while Hopf bifurcation may cause the trajectory to oscillate around the stable limit cycle.     

Stability of Geometrically Imperfect General-View Shells

An efficient numerical algorithm is created on the basis of the method of curvilinear meshes, the method of basis reduction, and the asymptotic Koiter theory. It enables us to study load curves to reveal singular (limit and bifurcation) points and to analyze their behavior at branch points. Such an approach allows analyzing the nonlinear deformation of shell structures of arbitrary form and their sensitivity to imperfections. The technique is illustrated by an example of a conic panel with imperfections in the shape     

Postbuckling analysis and imperfection sensitivity of general shells by the finite element method

Buckling and imperfection sensitivity are the primary considerations in analysis and design of thin shell structures. The objective here is to develop accurate and efficient capabilities to predict the postbuckling behavior of shells, including imperfection sensitivity. The approach used is based on the Lyapunov–Schmidt–Koiter (LSK) decomposition and asymptotic expansion in conjunction with the finite element method. This LSK formulation for shells is derived and implemented in a finite element code. The method is applied to cylindrical and spherical shells. Cases of linear and nonlinear prebuckling behavior, coincident as well as non-coincident buckling modes, and modal interactions are studied. The results from the asymptotic analysis are compared to exact solutions obtained by numerically tracking the bifurcated equilibrium branches. The accuracy of the LSK asymptotic technique, its range of validity, and its limitations are illustrated.     

双频激励下Filippov系统的非光滑簇发振荡机理

旨在揭示含双频周期激励的不同尺度Filippov系统的非光滑簇发振荡模式及分岔机制. 以Duffing和Van der Pol耦合振子作为动力系统模型,引入周期变化的双频激励项,当两激励频率与固有频率存在量级差时,将两周期激励项表示为可以作为一慢变参数的单一周期激励项的代数表达式,给出了当保持外部激励频率不变,改变参数激励频率的情况下,快子系统随慢变参数变化的平衡曲线及因系统出现的fold分岔或Hopf分岔导致的系统分岔行为的演化机制.结合转换相图和由Hopf分岔产生稳定极限环的演化过程,得到了由慢变参数确定的同宿分岔、多滑分岔的临界情形及因慢变参数改变而出现的混合振荡模式,并详细阐述了系统的簇发振荡机制和非光滑动力学行为特性.通过对比两种不同情形下的平衡曲线及分岔图,指出虽然系统有相似的平衡曲线结构, 却因参数激励频率取值的不同,致使平衡曲线发生了更多的曲折,对应的极值点的个数也有所改变,并通过数值模拟, 对结果进行了验证.      

Non-linear vibrations of shallow circular cylindrical panels with complex geometry. Meshless discretization with the R-functions method

Geometrically non-linear forced vibrations of a shallow circular cylindrical panel with a complex shape, clamped at the edges and subjected to a radial harmonic excitation in the spectral neighborhood of the fundamental mode, are investigated. Both Donnell and the Sanders–Koiter non-linear shell theories retaining in-plane inertia are used to calculate the elastic strain energy. The discrete model of the non-linear vibrations is build using the meshfree technique based on classic approximate functions and the R-function theory, which allows for constructing the sequences of admissible functions that satisfy given boundary conditions in domains with complex geometries; Chebyshev orthogonal polynomials are used to expand shell displacements. A two-step approach is implemented in order to solve the problem: first a linear analysis is conducted to identify natural frequencies and corresponding natural modes to be used in the second step as a basis for expanding the non-linear displacements. Lagrange approach is applied to obtain a system of ordinary differential equations on both steps. Different multimodal expansions, having from 15 up to 35 generalized coordinates associated with natural modes, are used to study the convergence of the solution. The pseudo-arclength continuation method and bifurcation analysis are applied to study non-linear equations of motion. Numerical responses are obtained in the spectral neighborhood of the lowest natural frequency; results are compared to those available in the literature. Internal resonances are also detected and discussed.     

Bifurcations and chaotic dynamics in suspended cables under simultaneous parametric and external excitations

The bifurcations and chaotic dynamics of parametrically and externally excited suspended cables are investigated in this paper. The equations of motion governing such systems contain quadratic and cubic nonlinearities, which may result in two-to-one and one-to-one internal resonances. The Galerkin procedure is introduced to simplify the governing equations of motion to ordinary differential equations with two-degree-of-freedom. The case of one-to-one internal resonance between the modes of suspended cables, primary resonant excitation, and principal parametric excitation of suspended cables is considered. Using the method of multiple scales, a parametrically and externally excited system is transformed to the averaged equations. A pseudo arclength scheme is used to trace the branches of the equilibrium solutions and an investigation of the eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix is used to assess their stability. The equilibrium solutions experience pitchfork, saddle-node, and Hopf bifurcations. A detailed bifurcation analysis of the dynamic (periodic and chaotic) solutions of the averaged equations is presented. Five branches of dynamic solutions are found. Three of these branches that emerge from two Hopf bifurcations and the other two are isolated. The two Hopf bifurcation points, one is supercritical Hopf bifurcation point and another is primary Hopf bifurcation point. The limit cycles undergo symmetry-breaking, cyclic-fold, and period-doubling bifurcations, whereas the chaotic attractors undergo attractor-merging, boundary crises. Simultaneous occurrence of the limit cycle and chaotic attractors, homoclinic orbits, homoclinic explosions and hyperchaos are also observed.     

双频1:2激励下修正蔡氏振子两尺度耦合行为

不同尺度耦合系统存在的复杂振荡及其分岔机理一直是当前国内外研究的热点课题之一. 目前相关工作大都是针对单频周期激励频域两尺度系统,而对于含有两个或两个以上周期激励系统尺度效应的研究则相对较少. 为深入揭示多频激励系统的不同尺度效应,本文以修正的四维蔡氏电路为例,通过引入两个频率不同的周期电流源,建立了双频1:2周期激励两尺度动力学模型. 当两激励频率之间存在严格共振关系,且周期激励频率远小于系统的固有频率时,可以将两周期激励项转换为单一周期激励项的函数形式. 将该单一周期激励项视为慢变参数,给出了不同激励幅值下快子系统随慢变参数变化的平衡曲线及其分岔行为的演化过程,重点考察了3种较为典型的不同外激励幅值下系统的簇发振荡行为. 结合转换相图,揭示了各种簇发振荡的产生机理. 系统的轨线会随慢变参数的变化,沿相应的稳定平衡曲线运动,而fold分岔会导致轨迹在不同稳定平衡曲线上的跳跃,产生相应的激发态. 激发态可以用从分岔点向相应稳定平衡曲线的暂态过程来近似,其振荡幅值的变化和振荡频率也可用相应平衡点特征值的实部和虚部来描述,并进一步指出随着外激励幅值的改变,导致系统参与簇发振荡的平衡曲线分岔点越多,其相应簇发振荡吸引子的结构也越复杂.      

Systematic description of imperfect bifurcation behavior of symmetric systems

A systematic method is presented for describing experimental curves of force vs strain of a system with regular polygonal (dihedral group) symmetry subject to bifurcation behavior, with an aim toward overcoming the following problems : (1) it is difficult to judge whether the system is undergoing bifurcation or not ; (2) the perfect behavior of the system cannot be known due to the presence of initial imperfections ; (3) those curves are often qualitatively different from bifurcation diagrams predicted by mathematics. The tools employed are : the asymptotic theory for imperfect bifurcation, such as the Koiter law, and the stochastic theory of initial imperfections. The former theory is extended in this paper to the system with regular-polygonal symmetry to present asymptotic laws for recovering perfect curves with reference to the experimental ones. These laws are formulated for physically observable displacements, instead of the variables in the mathematical bifurcation diagrams, in order to make them readily applicable to the experimental curves. The stochastic theory is combined with an asymptotic law to develop a means to identify the multiplicity of the bifurcation point. The systematic method for describing the experimental curves developed in this manner is applied to the bifurcation analysis of regular-polygonal truss domes to testify its validity. Furthermore, this method is applied to the shear behavior of cylindrical sand specimens to show that they, in fact, are undergoing bifurcation, and, in turn, to demonstrate the importance of a viewpoint of bifurcation in the study of shear behavior of materials. The need of a dual viewpoint of bifurcation and plasticity in the study of constitutive relationship of materials is emphasized to conclude the paper.     

On the equilibrium configurations of an elastically constrained rotating disk: An analytical approach

According to the linear theory of vibration for spinning disks, the backward traveling waves of some of the modes may have zero natural frequency at what are called the critical speeds. At these speeds, the linear equations of motion cannot properly predict the amplitude response of the spinning disk, and nonlinear equations of motion must be used. In this paper, geometrical nonlinear equations of motion based on Von Karman plate theory are employed to study the dynamics of an elastically constrained disk near its critical speeds. A one-mode approximation is used to examine the effect of elastic constraint on the amplitude response. Presenting the equations in a space-fixed coordinate system, this study aims to find closed-form solutions for some of the equilibrium configurations of an elastically constrained spinning disk. Also, the stability of these configurations is studied using analytical techniques. It is shown that below the critical speed, one neutrally stable equilibrium solution exists, while above it, a bifurcation occurs. In this situation, two more branches of equilibrium configurations emerge, one of which is neutrally stable and the other unstable. Closed-form expressions for the bifurcation points are obtained. Due to the effect of an elastic constraint, a bifurcation occurs and the previously neutrally stable equilibrium configuration turns unstable. Also at this bifurcation point, two more branches of equilibrium solutions emerge.     

Non-linear in-plane analysis and buckling of pinned–fixed shallow arches subjected to a central concentrated load

This paper is concerned with an analytical study of the non-linear elastic in-plane behaviour and buckling of pinned–fixed shallow circular arches that are subjected to a central concentrated radial load. Because the boundary conditions provided by the pinned support and fixed support of a pinned–fixed arch are quite different from those of a pinned–pinned or a fixed–fixed arch, the non-linear behaviour of a pinned–fixed arch is more complicated than that of its pinned–pinned or fixed–fixed counterpart. Analytical solutions for the non-linear equilibrium path for shallow pinned–fixed circular arches are derived. The non-linear equilibrium path for a pinned–fixed arch may have one or three unstable equilibrium paths and may include two or four limit points. This is different from pinned–pinned and fixed–fixed arches that have only two limit points. The number of limit points in the non-linear equilibrium path of a pinned–fixed arch depends on the slenderness and the included angle of the arch. The switches in terms of an arch geometry parameter, which is introduced in the paper, are derived for distinguishing between arches with two limit points and those with four limit points and for distinguishing between a pinned–fixed arch and a beam curved in-elevation. It is also shown that a pinned–fixed arch under a central concentrated load can buckle in a limit point mode, but cannot buckle in a bifurcation mode. This contrasts with the buckling behaviour of pinned–pinned or fixed–fixed arches under a central concentrated load, which may buckle both in a bifurcation mode and in a limit point mode. An analytical solution for the limit point buckling load of shallow pinned–fixed circular arches is also derived. Comparisons with finite element results show that the analytical solutions can accurately predict the non-linear buckling and postbuckling behaviour of shallow pinned–fixed arches. Although the solutions are derived for shallow pinned–fixed arches, comparisons with the finite element results demonstrate that they can also provide reasonable predictions for the buckling load of deep pinned–fixed arches under a central concentrated load.     

Stability of imperfect stiffened conical shells

A general procedure is developed for stability of stiffened conical shells. It is used for studying the sensitivity behavior with respect to the stiffener configurations. The effect of the pre-buckling nonlinearity on the bifurcation point, as well as the limit-point load level, is examined. The unique algorithm presented by the authors is an extended version of an earlier one, adapted for determination of the limit-point load level of imperfect conical shells. The eigenvalue problem is iteratively solved with respect to the nonlinear equilibrium state up to the bifurcation point or to the limit-point load level.A general symbolic code (using MAPLE) was programmed to create the differential operators based on Donnell’s type shell theory. Then the code uses the Galerkin procedure, the Newton–Raphson procedure, and a finite difference scheme for automatic development of an efficient FORTRAN code which is used for the parametric study.     

Computer Assisted Proof of Transverse Saddle-to-Saddle Connecting Orbits for First Order Vector Fields

In this paper we introduce a computational method for proving the existence of generic saddle-to-saddle connections between equilibria of first order vector fields. The first step consists of rigorously computing high order parametrizations of the local stable and unstable manifolds. If the local manifolds intersect, the Newton–Kantorovich theorem is applied to validate the existence of a so-called short connecting orbit. If the local manifolds do not intersect, a boundary value problem with boundary values in the local manifolds is rigorously solved by a contraction mapping argument on a ball centered at the numerical solution, yielding the existence of a so-called long connecting orbit. In both cases our argument yields transversality of the corresponding intersection of the manifolds. The method is applied to the Lorenz equations, where a study of a pitchfork bifurcation with saddle-to-saddle stability is done and where several proofs of existence of short and long connections are obtained.     

Projective synchronization of new hyperchaotic system with fully unknown parameters

Projective synchronization of new hyperchaotic Newton–Leipnik system with fully unknown parameters is investigated in this paper. Based on Lyapunov stability theory, a new adaptive controller with parameter update law is designed to projective synchronize between two hyperchaotic systems asymptotically and globally. Basic bifurcation analysis of the new system is investigated by means of Lyapunov exponent spectrum and bifurcation diagrams. It is found that the new hyperchaotic system possesses two positive Lyapunov exponents within a wide range of parameters. Numerical simulations on the hyperchaotic Newton–Leipnik system are used to verify the theoretical results.     

Finite element analysis of post-buckling dynamics in plates. Part II: A non-stationary analysis

With the secondary bifurcation and the local post-secondary buckling behavior being analyzed in Part I, Part II of this study consists of developing an adaptive non-stationary load sweeping algorithm to investigate post-buckling dynamics and mode jumping phenomena of generally (mechanically and thermally) loaded thin plates in a global context. The non-stationary sweeping procedure has the merits of adapting large load steps to capture static characteristics of stable equilibrium paths both before and after mode jumping and reduce automatically the step size to ensure a dynamic transition between the two stable branches. Thus, it is computationally effective. Furthermore, by adopting the non-stationary sweeping scheme, this procedure can avoid spurious convergence of the transient response to an unstable equilibrium.Corresponding to different post-secondary bifurcation forms, which are determined using asymptotical finite element analysis developed in Part I, subsequent buckling patterns of various complexity occurring after mode jumping are obtained using the method developed in this article. Qualitative changes in post-buckled patterns are observed after the occurrence of the secondary bifurcation or the mode jumping. Free vibration analysis using the tangent stiffness matrix obtained from the converged static or dynamic solutions shows a vibration modal shifting phenomena occurs during the process of the load sweep. The spurious convergence phenomenon caused by the application of the traditional hybrid static–dynamic method is found and explained.