Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1899257 | Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena | 2015 | 10 Pages |
•Experimental realization of previous theoretical study.•Non-smooth oscillator with energy input at impact.•Spectrograms showing alternative frequency-based bifurcation diagram.•Excellent agreement between experimental data and numerical simulation.
This paper describes some typical behavior encountered in the response of a harmonically-excited mechanical system in which a severe nonlinearity occurs due to an impact. Although such systems have received considerable recent attention (most of it from a theoretical viewpoint), the system scrutinized in this paper also involves a discrete input of energy at the impact condition. That is, it is kicked when contact is made. One of the motivations for this work is related to a classic pinball machine in which a ball striking a bumper experiences a sudden impulse, introducing additional unpredictability to the motion of the ball. A one-dimensional analog of a pinball machine was the subject of a detailed mathematical study in Pring and Budd (2011), and the current paper details behavior obtained from a mechanical experiment and describes dynamics not observed in a conventional (passive) impact oscillator.