On stability of certain key types of rigid body motion in a nonconservative field

In this activity the qualitative analysis of spatial problems of the real rigid body motions in a resistant medium is fulfilled. A nonlinear model that describes the interaction of a rigid body with a medium and takes into account (based on experimental data on the motion of circular cylinders in water) the dependence of the arm of the force on the normalized angular velocity of the body and the dependence of the moment of the force on the angle of attack is constructed. An analysis of plane and spatial models (in the presence or absence of an additional tracking force) leads to sufficient stability conditions for translational motion, as one of the key types of motions. Either stable or unstable self-oscillation can be observed under certain conditions. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)