The dynamics of a rigid body colliding with a rigid surface

Basic investigation techniques, algorithms, and results are presented for nonlinear oscillations and stability of steady rotations and periodic motions of a rigid body, colliding with a rigid surface, in a uniform gravity field.      

The dynamics of a rigid body with a sharp edge in contact with an inclined surface in the presence of dry friction

In this paper we consider the dynamics of a rigid body with a sharp edge in contact with a rough plane. The body can move so that its contact point is fixed or slips or loses contact with the support. In this paper, the dynamics of the system is considered within three mechanical models which describe different regimes of motion. The boundaries of the domain of definition of each model are given, the possibility of transitions from one regime to another and their consistency with different coefficients of friction on the horizontal and inclined surfaces are discussed.     

The extended Melnikov method for non-autonomous nonlinear dynamical systems and application to multi-pulse chaotic dynamics of a buckled thin plate

The extended Melnikov method, which was used to solve autonomous perturbed Hamiltonian systems, is improved to deal with high-dimensional non-autonomous nonlinear dynamical systems. The multi-pulse Shilnikov type chaotic dynamics of a parametrically and externally excited, simply supported rectangular thin plate is studied by using the extended Melnikov method. A two-degree-of-freedom non-autonomous nonlinear system of the rectangular thin plate is derived by the von Karman type equation and the Galerkin approach. The case of buckling is considered for the rectangular thin plate. The extended Melnikov method is directly applied to the non-autonomous governing equations of motion to investigate multi-pulse Shilnikov type chaotic motions of the buckled rectangular thin plate for the first time. The results obtained here indicate that multi-pulse chaotic motions can occur in the parametrically and externally excited, simply supported buckled rectangular thin plate.     

The dynamics of nonholonomic systems consisting of a spherical shell with a moving rigid body inside

In this paper we investigate two systems consisting of a spherical shell rolling without slipping on a plane and a moving rigid body fixed inside the shell by means of two different mechanisms. In the former case the rigid body is attached to the center of the ball on a spherical hinge. We show an isomorphism between the equations of motion for the inner body with those for the ball moving on a smooth plane. In the latter case the rigid body is fixed by means of a nonholonomic hinge. Equations of motion for this system have been obtained and new integrable cases found. A special feature of the set of tensor invariants of this system is that it leads to the Euler — Jacobi — Lie theorem, which is a new integration mechanism in nonholonomic mechanics. We also consider the problem of free motion of a bundle of two bodies connected by means of a nonholonomic hinge. For this system, integrable cases and various tensor invariants are found.     

Transient landing dynamics analysis for a lunar lander with random and interval fields

This paper presents an objective comparison of random fields and interval fields to propagate spatial uncertainty, based on a finite element model of a lunar lander. The impulse based substructuring method is used to improve the analysis efficiency. The spatially uncertain input parameters are modeled by both random fields and interval fields. The objective of this work is to compare the applicability of both approaches in an early design stage under scarce information regarding the occurring spatial parameter variability. Focus is on the definition of the input side of the problem under this scarce knowledge, as well as the interpretation of the analysis outcome. To obtain an objective comparison between both approaches, the gradients in the interval field are tuned towards the gradients present in the random field. The result shows a very similar dependence and correlation structure between the local properties for both approaches. Furthermore, through the transient dynamic estimation, it is shown that the response ranges that are predicted by the interval field and random field are very close to each other.     

The natural oscillations of an elastic body with a heavy rigid spike-shaped inclusion

It is established that oscillations in the low-frequency range are characteristic for a body with a heavy-rigid spike-shaped inclusion, and corresponding modes mainly occur as flexural deformations of the tip of the spike, localized close to its vertex.     

A contact problem for an elastic plate with a thin rigid inclusion

Under study is an equilibrium problem for a plate under the influence of external forces. The plate is assumed to have a thin rigid inclusion that reaches the boundary at the zero angle and partially contacts a rigid body. On the inclusion face, there is a delamination. We consider the complete Kirchhoff–Love model, where the unknown functions are the vertical and horizontal displacements of the middle surface points of the plate. We present differential and variational formulations of the problem and prove the existence and uniqueness of a solution.     

The graph structure of a deterministic automaton chosen at random

An n‐state deterministic finite automaton over a k‐letter alphabet can be seen as a digraph with n vertices which all have k labeled out‐arcs. Grusho (Publ Math Inst Hungarian Acad Sci 5 (1960), 17–61). proved that whp in a random k‐out digraph there is a strongly connected component of linear size, i.e., a giant, and derived a central limit theorem. We show that whp the part outside the giant contains at most a few short cycles and mostly consists of tree‐like structures, and present a new proof of Grusho's theorem. Among other things, we pinpoint the phase transition for strong connectivity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 51, 428–458, 2017     

The indentation of two rigid stamps into an elastic sphere with a spheroidal inclusion

On the basis of the expansion formulas of the vector solutions of the Lamé equations in spherical coordinates with respect to the solutions of the Lamé equations in oblate spheroidal coordinates and on the basis of their inverse formulas, one solves the problem of the compression of an elastic ball with an absolutely rigid inclusion in the form of an oblate spheroid. The problem is reduced to an infinite system of linear algebraic equations of the second kind with a completely continuous operator in ₂. Results of the numerical solution of the infinite system are given and the obtained results are analyzed.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Prikladnaya Mekhanika, No. 20, pp. 9–13, 1989.     

Numerical solution of an equilibrium problem for an elastic body with a thin delaminated rigid inclusion

Under consideration is a 2D-problem of elasticity theory for a body with a thin rigid inclusion. It is assumed that there is a delamination crack between the rigid inclusion and the elastic matrix. At the crack faces, the boundary conditions are set in the form of inequalities providing mutual nonpenetration of the crack faces. Some numerical method is proposed for solving the problem, based on domain decomposition and the Uzawa algorithm for solving variational inequalities.We give an example of numerical calculation by the finite element method.     

Dynamics of a linear beam with an attached local nonlinear energy sink

We provide numerical evidence of passive and broadband targeted energy transfer from a linear flexible beam under shock excitation to a local essentially nonlinear lightweight attachment that acts, in essence, as nonlinear energy sink—NES. It is shown that the NES absorbs shock energy in a one-way, irreversible fashion and dissipates this energy locally, without ‘spreading’ it back to the linear beam. Moreover, we show numerically that an appropriately designed and placed NES can passively absorb and locally dissipate a major portion of the shock energy of the beam, up to an optimal value of 87%. The implementation of the NES concept to the shock isolation of practical engineering structures and to other applications is discussed.     

The axisymmetric mixed problem of elasticity theory for a cone clamped along its side surface with an attached spherical segment

The axisymmetric mixed problem of the stress state of an elastic cone, with a spherical segment attached to the base, is considered. The side surface of the cone is rigidly clamped, while the surface of the spherical segment is under a load. By using a new integral transformation over the meridial angle the problem is reduced in transformant space to a vector boundary value problem, the solution of which is constructed using the solution of a matrix boundary value problem. The unknown function (the derivative of the displacements), which occurs in the solution, is determined from the approximate solution of a singular integral equation, for which a preliminary investigation is carried out of the nature of the singularity of the function at the ends of the integration interval. Subsequent use of inverse integral transformations leads to the final solution of the initial problem. The values of the stresses obtained are compared with those that arise in the cone for a similar load, when sliding clamping conditions are specified on the side surface of the cone (for this case an exact solution of this problem is constructed, based on the known result).     

The cycle structure of two rows in a random Latin square

Let L be chosen uniformly at random from among the latin squares of order n ≥ 4 and let r,s be arbitrary distinct rows of L. We study the distribution of σ_r,s, the permutation of the symbols of L which maps r to s. We show that for any constant c > 0, the following events hold with probability 1 ‐ o(1) as n → ∞: (i) σ_r,s has more than (log n)^1?c cycles, (ii) σ_r,s has fewer than 9 cycles, (iii) L has fewer than n^5/2 intercalates (latin subsquares of order 2). We also show that the probability that σ_r,s is an even permutation lies in an interval and the probability that it has a single cycle lies in [2n^‐2,2n^‐2/3]. Indeed, we show that almost all derangements have similar probability (within a factor of n^3/2) of occurring as σ_r,s as they do if chosen uniformly at random from among all derangements of {1,2,…,n}. We conjecture that σ_r,s shares the asymptotic distribution of a random derangement. Finally, we give computational data on the cycle structure of latin squares of orders n ≤ 11. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2008