The steady motions of a disc on an absolutely rough plane

The branching of the steady motions of a heavy circular disc on an absolutely rough horizontal plane is investigated. The motions corresponding to critical points of the energy integral at fixed levels of two other integrals having the form of hypergeometric series are considered.     

On the Lie integrability theorem for the Chaplygin ball

The necessary number of commuting vector fields for the Chaplygin ball in the absolute space is constructed. We propose to get these vector fields in the framework of the Poisson geometry similar to Hamiltonian mechanics.     

Chaplygin ball over a fixed sphere: an explicit integration

We consider a nonholonomic system describing the rolling of a dynamically nonsymmetric sphere over a fixed sphere without slipping. The system generalizes the classical nonholonomic Chaplygin sphere problem and it is shown to be integrable for one special ratio of radii of the spheres. After a time reparameterization the system becomes a Hamiltonian one and admits a separation of variables and reduction to Abel-Jacobi quadratures. The separating variables that we found appear to be a non-trivial generalization of ellipsoidal (spheroconic) coordinates on the Poisson sphere, which can be useful in other integrable problems. Using the quadratures we also perform an explicit integration of the problem in theta-functions of the new time.      

The quasistatic motions of a three-body system on a plane

A controlled three-body system on a horizontal plane with dry friction is considered. The interaction forces between each pair of bodies are controls that are not subject to prior constraints but must be chosen in such a way that the motions of the system generated by them are quasistatic, that is, the total force acting on each of the bodies must be close to zero. All motions in which one body moves and the other two are fixed are found in the class of quasistatic motions. The problem of the optimal displacement of a moving body between two specified positions on a plane such that the absolute magnitude of the work of the friction forces along the trajectory is a minimum is solved. The quasistatic controllability of a three-body system is demonstrated and algorithms for bringing it into a specified position are discussed. The system considered simulates a mobile robot consisting of three bodies between which control forces act that can be realized by linear motors. The sizes of the bodies are assumed to be negligibly small compared with the distances between them so that the bodies are treated as particles.     

The problem of optimal control of a Chaplygin ball by internal rotors

We study the problem of optimal control of a Chaplygin ball on a plane by means of 3 internal rotors. Using Pontryagin maximum principle, the equations of extremals are reduced to Hamiltonian equations in group variables. For a spherically symmetric ball, the solutions can be expressed in by elliptic functions.     

The steady rolling of a disc on a rough plane

The well-known problem of the rolling without slipping of a heavy circular disc along a horizontal plane is considered. The steady motions of a disc for which the angle between the plane of the disc and the supporting plane (the angle of nutation) is constant are investigated. The problem of the range of variation of the angle of nutation within which the given motions are stable, irrespective of the values of the constants of the two linear first integrals or, in other variables, irrespective of the angular velocities of precession and proper rotation, is investigated. It is shown that this range is wider than was established earlier in [1].     

Integrable discretization and deformation of the nonholonomic Chaplygin ball

The rolling of a dynamically balanced ball on a horizontal rough table without slipping was described by Chaplygin using Abel quadratures. We discuss integrable discretizations and deformations of this nonholonomic system using the same Abel quadratures. As a by-product one gets a new geodesic flow on the unit two-dimensional sphere whose additional integrals of motion are polynomials in the momenta of fourth order.     

Regular and chaotic motions of a Chaplygin sleigh under periodic pulsed torque impacts

For a Chaplygin sleigh on a plane, which is a paradigmatic system of nonholonomic mechanics, we consider dynamics driven by periodic pulses of supplied torque depending on the instant spatial orientation of the sleigh. Additionally, we assume that a weak viscous force and moment affect the sleigh in time intervals between the pulses to provide sustained modes of the motion associated with attractors in the reduced three-dimensional phase space (velocity, angular velocity, rotation angle). The developed discrete version of the problem of the Chaplygin sleigh is an analog of the classical Chirikov map appropriate for the nonholonomic situation. We demonstrate numerically, discuss and classify dynamical regimes depending on the parameters, including regular motions and diffusive-like random walks associated, respectively, with regular and chaotic attractors in the reduced momentum dynamical equations.     

On detachment conditions in the problem on the motion of a rigid body on a rough plane

The classical mechanical problem about the motion of a heavy rigid body on a horizontal plane is considered within the framework of theory of systems with unilateral constraints. Under general assumptions about the character of friction, we examine the question on the possibility of detachment of the body from the plane under the action of reaction of the plane and forces of inertia. For systems with rolling, we find new scenarios of the appearing of motions with jumps and impacts. The results obtained are applied to the study of stationary motions of a disk. We have showed the following.

The motions of a spheroid on a horizontal plane with viscous friction

The stability conditions of the steady motions of a heavy spheroid on a plane with viscous friction are analysed. A geometrical interpretation of the results is given. The results are compared with the corresponding results in the case of an absolutely smooth and absolutely rough surface. The unsteady motions of the spheroid are investigated numerically.     

The nearly horizontally rolling of a thick disk on a rough plane

In the paper the analytical solution of the partially linearized equations of motion of nearly horizontally rolling of a thick rigid disk on a perfectly rough horizontal plane under the action of gravity is given in terms of Whittaker functions. The solution is used to obtain the asymptotic solutions for a very small inclination angle, the study of unilateral contact between a disk and a plane and the study of disk colliding motion.      

The problem of drift and recurrence for the rolling Chaplygin ball

We investigate the motion of the point of contact (absolute dynamics) in the integrable problem of the Chaplygin ball rolling on a plane. Although the velocity of the point of contact is a given vector function of variables of the reduced system, it is impossible to apply standard methods of the theory of integrable Hamiltonian systems due to the absence of an appropriate conformally Hamiltonian representation for an unreduced system. For a complete analysis we apply the standard analytical approach, due to Bohl and Weyl, and develop topological methods of investigation. In this way we obtain conditions for boundedness and unboundedness of the trajectories of the contact point.     

The motion of a body supported at three points on a rough plane

The problem of the motion of a heavy rigid body, supported on a rough horizontal plane at three of its points, is considered. The contacts at the support points are assumed to be unilateral and subject to the law of dry (Coulomb) friction. The dynamics of possible motions of such a body under the action of gravity forces and dry friction is investigated. In the case of a plane body, it is possible to obtain particular integrals of the equations of motion.     

Dynamical invariants of rigid motions on the hyperbolic plane

This paper is devoted to the investigation of the geometry of left invariant metrics on the isometry group of the hyperbolic plane determined by the kinetic energy of a rigid particle system.Dedicated to the memory of Professor A. M. Vasil'ev (1923–1987)     

The rolling ball problem on the plane revisited

By a sequence of rollings without slipping or twisting along segments of a straight line of the plane, a spherical ball of unit radius has to be transferred from an initial state to an arbitrary final state taking into account the orientation of the ball. We provide a new proof that with at most 3 moves, we can go from a given initial state to an arbitrary final state. The first proof of this result is due to Hammersley ( 1983). His proof is more algebraic than ours which is more geometric. We also showed that “generically” no one of the three moves, in any elimination of the spin discrepancy, may have length equal to an integral multiple of 2π.     

The rolling motion of a truncated ball without slipping and spinning on a plane

This paper is concerned with the dynamics of a top in the form of a truncated ball as it moves without slipping and spinning on a horizontal plane about a vertical. Such a system is described by differential equations with a discontinuous right-hand side. Equations describing the system dynamics are obtained and a reduction to quadratures is performed. A bifurcation analysis of the system is made and all possible types of the top’s motion depending on the system parameters and initial conditions are defined. The system dynamics in absolute space is examined. It is shown that, except for some special cases, the trajectories of motion are bounded.     

The steady motions of a heavy ellipsoid filled with liquid on a plane with friction

The motion of a heavy uniform thin-walled ellipsoid of revolution, completely filled with an ideal incompressible liquid, performing uniform vortex motion is investigated. It is assumed that the ellipsoid is situated on a horizontal plane, from the side of which a normal reaction and a force of viscous sliding friction act on it. The equations of motion of the system, suitable both in the general case and in limiting cases of zero ellipsoid mass or zero liquid mass, are set up. Steady and periodic motions of the ellipsoid with the liquid are obtained. The conditions for uniform rotations of the ellipsoid about a vertically situated axis of symmetry to be stable are obtained.