Nonlinear phenomena in mechanical system dynamics

The goal of the paper is to present selected, untypical, and intuitively unexpected phenomena from nonlinear mechanics. Particular attention is paid to the dynamics of self-, parametric and external excited systems. Interactions between these various vibration types lead mainly to quasi-periodic responses. However, in the selected domains of system parameters, the effect of frequency locking is observed. Furthermore, external harmonic force imposed on such a system produces a specific internal loop inside a resonance zone. As an example of nonlinear autoparametric systems, a structure (oscillator) with an attached pendulum is presented. The nonlinear terms introduced by pendulum motion cause instabilities in the resonance region. This instability transits the pendulum to rotation or chaotic motion. An application of nonlinear couplings for the reduction of unwanted vibrations is also studied. In order to reduce vibrations, the main structure is coupled to an electrical oscillator by a quadratic term. It has been shown that such a coupling leads to the amplitude saturation phenomenon which can then be used to design a nonlinear control strategy.