On the stability of equilibria of nonholonomic systems with nonlinear constraints

Lyapunov＇s first method, extended by V. V. Kozlov to nonlinear mechani- cal systems, is applied to the study of the instability of the position of equilibrium of a mechanical system moving in the field of conservative and dissipative forces. The mo- tion of the system is limited by ideal nonlinear nonholonomic constraints. Five cases determined by the relationship between the degree of the first nontrivial polynomials in Maclaurin＇s series for the potential energy and the functions that can be generated from the equations of nonlinear nonholonomic constraints are analyzed. In the three eases, the theorem on the instability of the position of equilibrium of nonholonomic systems with linear homogeneous constraints （V. V. Kozlov （1986）） is generalized to the case of nonlin- ear nonhomogeneous constraints. In the other two cases, new theorems are set extending the result from V. V. Kozlov （1994） to nonholonomic systems with nonlinear constraints.     

Applicability of Hamilton-Jacobi method to nonlinear nonholonomic systems

This paper uses Poincaré formalism to obtain a generalization of the Hamilton-Jacobi method of integrating dynamical systems moving with nonlinear nonholonomic constraints. Necessary and sufficient conditions are investigated for the applicability of this method to such systems. The method is illustrated by considering some concrete examples of nonholonomic systems.     

Direct sensitivity analysis of multibody systems with holonomic and nonholonomic constraints via an index-3 augmented Lagrangian formulation with projections

Optimizing the dynamic response of mechanical systems is often a necessary step during the early stages of product development cycle. This is a complex problem that requires to carry out the sensitivity analysis of the system dynamics equations if gradient-based optimization tools are used. These dynamics equations are often expressed as a highly nonlinear system of ordinary differential equations or differential-algebraic equations, if a dependent set of generalized coordinates with its corresponding kinematic constraints is used to describe the motion. Two main techniques are currently available to perform the sensitivity analysis of a multibody system, namely the direct differentiation and the adjoint variable methods. In this paper, we derive the equations that correspond to the direct sensitivity analysis of the index-3 augmented Lagrangian formulation with velocity and acceleration projections. Mechanical systems with both holonomic and nonholonomic constraints are considered. The evaluation of the system sensitivities requires the solution of a tangent linear model that corresponds to the Newton–Raphson iterative solution of the dynamics at configuration level, plus two additional nonlinear systems of equations for the velocity and acceleration projections. The method was validated in the sensitivity analysis of a set of examples, including a five-bar linkage with spring elements, which had been used in the literature as benchmark problem for similar multibody dynamics formulations, a point-mass system subjected to nonholonomic constraints, and a full-scale vehicle model.     

Conservation laws of nonholonomic nonconservative dynamical systems

In this paper conservation laws of nonholonomic nonconservative dynamical systems are studied by using the differential variational principles of Jourdain and the generalized Noether's identities of nonconservative systems subject to first order nonlinear nonholonomic constraints are provided. The project is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

New methods to find solutions and analyze stability of equilibrium of nonholonomic mechanical systems

A large proportion of constrained mechanical systems result in nonlinear ordinary differential equations, for which it is quite difficult to find analytical solutions. The initial motions method proposed by Whittaker is effective to deal with such problems for various constrained mechanical systems, including the nonholonomic systems discussed in the first part of this paper, where in addition to differential equations of motion, nonholonomic constraints apply. The final equations of motion for these systems are obtained in the form of corresponding power series. Also, an alternative, direct method to determine the initial values of higher-order derivatives \({\ddot{q}}_0 ,{{\dddot{q}{} }}_{\!0} ,\ldots \) is proposed, being different from that of Whittaker. The second part of this work analyzes the stability of equilibrium of less complex, nonholonomic mechanical systems represented by gradient systems. We discuss the stability of equilibrium of such systems based on the properties of the gradient system. The advantage of this novel method is its avoidance of the difficulty of directly establishing Lyapunov functions aimed at such unsteady nonlinear systems. Finally, these theoretical considerations are illustrated through four examples.     

CO-DIMENSION 2 BIFURCATIONS AND CHAOS IN CANTILEVERED PIPE CONVEYING TIME VARYING FLUID WITH THREE-TO-ONE INTERNAL RESONANCES

The nonlinear behavior of a cantilevered fluid conveying pipe subjected to principal parametric and internal resonances is investigated in this paper. The flow velocity is divided into constant and sinusoidai parts. The velocity value of the constant part is so adjusted such that the system exhibits 3:1 internal resonances for the first two modes. The method of multiple scales is employed to obtain the response of the system and a set of four first-order nonlinear ordinary-differential equations for governing the amplitude of the response. The eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix are used to assess the stability of the equilibrium solutions with varying parameters. The codimension 2 derived from the double-zero eigenvaiues is analyzed in detail. The results show that the response amplitude may undergo saddle-node, pitchfork, Hopf, homoclinic loop and period-doubling bifurcations depending on the frequency and amplitude of the sinusoidal flow. When the frequency of the sinusoidal flow equals exactly half of the first-mode frequency, the system has a route to chaos by period-doubling bifurcation and then returns to a periodic motion as the amplitude of the sinusoidal flow increases.     

A new approach to the vakonomic mechanics

The aim of this paper was to show that the Lagrange–d’Alembert and its equivalent the Gauss and Appel principle are not the only way to deduce the equations of motion of the nonholonomic systems. Instead of them we consider the generalization of the Hamiltonian principle for nonholonomic systems with non-zero transpositional relations. We apply this variational principle, which takes into the account transpositional relations different from the classical ones, and we deduce the equations of motion for the nonholonomic systems with constraints that in general are nonlinear in the velocity. These equations of motion coincide, except perhaps in a zero Lebesgue measure set, with the classical differential equations deduced with the d’Alembert–Lagrange principle. We provide a new point of view on the transpositional relations for the constrained mechanical systems: the virtual variations can produce zero or non-zero transpositional relations. In particular, the independent virtual variations can produce non-zero transpositional relations. For the unconstrained mechanical systems, the virtual variations always produce zero transpositional relations. We conjecture that the existence of the nonlinear constraints in the velocity must be sought outside of the Newtonian mechanics. We illustrate our results with examples.     

Energy integrals for mechanical systems with nonlinear nonholonomic constraints

The work analyzes energy relations for nonholonomic systems, whose motion is restricted by nonlinear nonholonomic constraints. For the mechanical systems with linear constraints, the analysis of energy relations was carried out in [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6] …. On the basis of corresponding Lagrange’s equations, a general law of the change in energy dε/dt is formulated for mentioned systems by the help of which it is shown that there are two types of the laws of conservation of energy, depending on the structure of elementary work of the forces of constraint reactions. Also, the condition for existing the second type of the law of conservation of energy is formulated in the form of the system of partial differential equations. The obtained results are illustrated by a model of nonholonomic mechanical system.     

Szebehely's problem for nonholonomic systems with a given first integral

I.IntroductionTheinverseproblemofdynamicsisoneoftheimportantsubjectsinmechanics.In1977,Szebehelysetforthaninverseproblemforthedeterminationofthet'orcefunctiontoamaterialpointintheplanefromparametricfamilyoftrajectories,andobtainedalinearfirstorderpartialdifferentialequationfortheforcefunction.Later,Erdil'l,MellsandPirast=l,MellsandBorgherol'l,BoilsandMertnsl4]extendedSzebehely'sproblemtoboththreeandndimensionalholonomicsystem.Recently,theauthorandProfessorMetFengxiangl'1studiedtheSzebehe…     

Equivalence of Dynamics for Nonholonomic Systems with Transverse Constraints

This paper is concerned with the dynamics of a mechanical system subject to nonintegrable constraints. In the first part, we prove the equivalence between the classical nonholonomic equations and those derived from the nonholonomic variational formulation, proposed by Kozlov in [10–12], for a class of constrained systems with constraints transverse to a foliation. This result extends the equivalence between the two formulations, proved for holonomic constraints, to a class of linear nonintegrable ones. In the second part, we derive the nonholonomic variational reduced equations for a constrained system with symmetry and constraint transverse to a principal bundle fibration, using a reduction procedure similar to the one developed in [5]. The resulting equations are compared with the nonholonomic reduced ones through mechanical examples.     

Two models for the parametric forcing of a nonlinear oscillator

Instabilities associated with 2:1 and 4:1 resonances of two models for the parametric forcing of a strictly nonlinear oscillator are analyzed. The first model involves a nonlinear Mathieu equation and the second one is described by a 2 degree of freedom Hamiltonian system in which the forcing is introduced by the coupling. Using averaging with elliptic functions, the threshold of the overlapping phenomenon between the resonance bands 2:1 and 4:1 (Chirikov’s overlap criterion) is determined for both models, offering an approximation for the transition from local to global chaos. The analytical results are compared to numerical simulations obtained by examining the Poincaré section of the two systems.     

Chaotic oscillations in pipes conveying pulsating fluid

Chaotic motions of a simply supported nonlinear pipe conveying fluid with harmonie velocity fluetuations are investigated. The motions are investigated in two flow velocity regimes, one below and above the critical velocity for divergence. Analyses are carried out taking into account single mode and two mode approximations in the neighbourhood of fundamental resonance. The amplitude of the harmonic velocity perturbation is considered as the control parameter. Both period doubling sequence and a sudden transition to chaos of an asymmetric period 2 motion are observed. Above the critical velocity chaos is explained in terms of periodic motion about the equilibrium point shifting to another equilibrium point through a saddle point. Phase plane trajectories, Poincaré maps and time histories are plotted giving the nature of motion. Both single and two mode approximations essentially give the same qualitative behaviour. The stability limits of trivial and nontrivial solutions are obtained by the multiple time scale method and harmonic balance method which are in very good agreement with the numerical results.     

Numerical method for dynamics of multi-body systems with two-dimensional Coulomb dry friction and nonholonomic constraints

Based on the dynamical theory of multi-body systems with nonholonomic constraints and an algorithm for complementarity problems, a numerical method for the multi-body systems with two-dimensional Coulomb dry friction and nonholonomic constraints is presented. In particular, a wheeled multi-body system is considered. Here,the state transition of stick-slip between wheel and ground is transformed into a nonlinear complementarity problem(NCP). An iterative algorithm for solving the NCP is then presented using an event-driven method. Dynamical equations of the multi-body system with holonomic and nonholonomic constraints are given using Routh equations and a constraint stabilization method. Finally, an example is used to test the proposed numerical method. The results show some dynamical behaviors of the wheeled multi-body system and its constraint stabilization effects.     

The Post-Hopf-Bifurcation Response of a Loosely Supported Cylinder in an Array Subjected to Cross-Flow. Part II: Theoretical Model and Comparison with Experiments

A nonlinear quasi-steady model for the analysis of the dynamics of a loosely supported cylinder, which takes into account position-dependent nonlinear fluid forces as well as nonuniform flow, is formulated. The model includes an approximation for the equivalent viscous damping associated with energy dissipation on impact at the support. The nonlinear model shows reasonably good agreement with experiments, in predicting the observed bifurcations in the cylinder response. Comparison criteria include the standard orbital plots, time traces and response spectra. A borderline chaotic response is found to be predominant over the test velocity range. In this chaotic regime, the theoretical results were verified via attractor fractal-dimension calculations and saddle orbit distributions; theoretical values of these invariant measures compare reasonably well with their experimental counterparts. Two mechanisms leading to chaos have been identified for this system. The first is a switching mechanism , at the onset of impacting. The second, and more prevalent, is the type I intermittency route to chaos.     

ROUTH’S EQUATIONS FOR GENERAL NONHOLONOMIC MECHANICAL SYSTEMS OF VARIABLE MASS

In this paper,Routh’s equations for the mechanical systems of the variable masswith nonlinear nonholonomic constraints of arbitrary orders in a noninertial referencesystem have been deduced not from any variational principles,but from the dynamicalequations of Newtonian mechanics.And then again the other forms of equations fornonholonomic systems of variable mass are obtained from Routh’s equations.     

EXTENSION OF THE MAC-KILLAN'S EQUATIONS TO NONLINEAR NONHOLONOMIC MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

In this article,the Mac-Millan's equations are extended to the most general nonholonomic mechanical systems and the generalized Mac-Millan's equations for nonlinear nonholonomic systems are obtained. And then the equivalence between the generalized Mac-Millan's equations and the generalized Chaply-gin's equations is demonstrated. Finally an example is given,     

Bifurcation and chaos of airfoil with multiple strong nonlinearities

The bifurcation and chaos phenomena of two-dimensional airfoils with multiple strong nonlinearities are investigated.First,the strongly nonlinear square and cubic plunging and pitching stiffness terms are considered in the airfoil motion equations,and the fourth-order Runge-Kutta simulation method is used to obtain the numerical solutions to the equations.Then,a post-processing program is developed to calculate the physical parameters such as the amplitude and the frequency based on the discrete numerical solutions.With these parameters,the transition of the airfoil motion from balance,period,and period-doubling bifurcations to chaos is emphatically analyzed.Finally,the critical points of the period-doubling bifurcations and chaos are predicted using the Feigenbaum constant and the first two bifurcation critical values.It is shown that the numerical simulation method with post-processing and the prediction procedure are capable of simulating and predicting the bifurcation and chaos of airfoils with multiple strong nonlinearities.     

Describing function based methods for predicting chaos in a class of fractional order differential equations

This paper deals with two different methods for predicting chaotic dynamics in fractional order differential equations. These methods, which have been previously proposed for detecting chaos in classical integer order systems, are based on using the describing function method. One of these methods is constructed based on Genesio–Tesi conjecture for existence of chaos, and another method is introduced based on Hirai conjecture about occurrence of chaos in a nonlinear system. These methods are restated to use in predicting chaos in a fractional order differential equation of the order between 2 and 3. Numerical simulation results are presented to show the ability of these methods to detect chaos in two fractional order differential equations with quadratic and cubic nonlinearities.     

A field method for solving the equations of motion of nonholonomic systems

In this paper, the field method^[1] for solving the equations of motion of holonomic nonconservative systems is extended to nonholonomic systems with constant mass and with variable mass. Two examples are given to illustrate its application. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.