Non-linear dynamics of a mechanical system with a frictional unilateral constraint

We analyze the dynamics of a two-dimensional system constituted by two masses subjected to elastic, gravitational and viscous forces and constrained by a moving frictional mono-lateral surface. The model exhibits a time-varying dynamics capable of reproducing the hopping phenomenon, an unwanted phenomenon observed in many applications such as the motion of a robotic arm on a surface or that of a wiper on a windscreen. The system dynamics, besides being affected by geometrical non-linearities, has a non-smooth nature due to the impact and friction laws involved in the model. The complexity of the resulting equations and of the transition conditions require the problem to be solved numerically. Various periodic motions are found and the effect of varying the system parameters, in particular the friction coefficient, is investigated. Finally, simulations are used to gain some insight the behavior of the windscreen wiper.