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.