The Dynamics of a Nonharmonically Excited System Having Rigid Amplitude Constraints

We consider the dynamic response of a single-degree-of-freedom system having two-sided amplitude constraints. The model consists of a piecewise-linear oscillator subjected to nonharmonic excitation. A simple impact rule employing a coefficient of restitution is used to characterize the almost instantaneous behavior of impact at the constraints. In this paper periodic and chaotic motions are found. The amplitude and stability of the periodic responses are determined and bifurcation analysis for these motions is carried out. Chaotic motions are found to exist over ranges of forcing periods.