On artifact solutions of semi-analytic methods in nonlinear dynamics

Nonlinear dynamics is a topic of permanent interest in mechanics since decades. The authors have recently published some results on a very classical topic, the dynamics of a softening Duffing oscillator under harmonic excitation focusing especially on low-frequency excitation (von Wagner in Arch Appl Mech 86(8):1383–1390, 2016). In this paper, it was shown that classical tools like harmonic balance and perturbation analysis may produce artificial solutions when applied without extra carefulness with respect to parameter ranges in the case of perturbation analysis or prior knowledge about the type of solution in case of harmonic balance. In the present paper these results are shortly summarized as they give the starting point for the additional investigations described herein. First, the method of slowly changing phase and amplitude is reviewed with respect to its capability of determining asymptotic stability of stationary solutions. It is shown that this method can also produce artifact results when applied without extra carefulness. As next example an extended Duffing oscillator is investigated, which shows, if harmonic balance is applied, “islands” of solutions. Using the error criterion in harmonic balance as described in von Wagner (2016) again artifact solutions can be identified

On Artifacts in Nonlinear Dynamics

Nonlinear oscillations are of permanent interest in the field of dynamics of mechanical and mechatronical systems. There exist several well-known semi-analytical methods like Harmonic Balance, perturbation analysis or multiple scales for such problems. We reconsider in our presentation the method of Harmonic Balance but add some additional steps in order to avoid artifacts and get information about the stability. The classical method of Harmonic Balance is therefore added by an error criterion, which considers the neglected terms. Looking on this error for increasing ansatz orders, it can be decided whether a solution exists or is an artifact of the method. For the low error solutions, a stability analysis is performed. As example, an extended Duffing oscillator with additional nonlinear damping and excitation is considered showing regions of separated island solutions. Also a nonlinear piezo-beam energy harvesting system is investigated. The described method enables to calculate solutions in a rapid manner with comparable low effort, to get an overview over regular responses of nonlinear systems.DFG, 253161314, Untersuchung des nichtlinearen dynamischen Verhaltens von stochastisch erregten Energy Harvesting Systemen mittels Lösung der Fokker-Planck-Gleichun

On some aspects of the dynamic behavior of the softening Duffing oscillator under harmonic excitation

The Duffing oscillator is probably the most popular example of a nonlinear oscillator in dynamics. Considering the case of softening Duffing oscillator with weak damping and harmonic excitation and performing standard methods like harmonic balance or perturbation analysis, zero mean solutions with large amplitudes are found for small excitation frequencies. These solutions produce a ”nose-like” curve in the amplitude–frequency diagram and merge with the inclining resonance curve for decreasing (but non-vanishing) damping. These results are presented without any additional discussion in several textbooks. The present paper discusses the accurateness of these solutions by introducing an error estimation in the harmonic balance method showing large errors. Performing a modified perturbation analysis leads to solutions with non-vanishing mean value, showing very small errors in the harmonic balance error analysis

Energy Harvesting From Bistable Systems Under Random Excitation

The transformation of otherwise unused vibrational energy into electric energy through the use of piezoelectric energy harvesting devices has been the subject of numerous investigations. The mechanical part of such a device is often constructed as a cantilever beam with applied piezo patches. If the harvester is designed as a linear resonator the power output relies strongly on the matching of the natural frequency of the beam and the frequency of the harvested vibration which restricts the applicability since most vibrations which are found in built environments are broad-banded or stochastic in nature. A possible approach to overcome this restriction is the use of permanent magnets to impose a nonlinear restoring force on the beam that leads to a broader operating range due to large amplitude motions over a large range of excitation frequencies. In this paper such a system is considered introducing a refined modeling with a modal expansion that incorporates two modal functions and a refined modeling of the magnet beam interaction. The corresponding probability density function in case of random excitation is calculated by the solution of the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation and compared with results from Monte Carlo simulations. Finally some measurements of ambient excitations are discussed.DFG, 253161314, Untersuchung des nichtlinearen dynamischen Verhaltens von stochastisch erregten Energy Harvesting Systemen mittels Lösung der Fokker-Planck-Gleichun

On the discretization of a bistable cantilever beam with application to energy harvesting

A typical setup for energy harvesting is that of a cantilever beam with piezoceramics excited by ambient base vibrations. In order to get higher energy output for a wide range of excitation frequencies, often a nonlinearity is introduced by intention in that way, that two magnets are fixed close to the free tip of the beam. Depending on strength and position of the magnets, this can either result in a mono-, bi- or tristable system. In our study, we focus on a bistable system. Such systems have been investigated thoroughly in literature while in almost all cases the beam has been discretized by a single shape function, in general the first eigenshape of the linear beam with undeflected stable equilibrium position. There can be some doubts about the suitability of a discretization by a single shape function mainly due to two reasons. First: In case of stochastic broadband excitations a discretization, taking into consideration just the first vibration shape seems not to be reasonable. Second: as the undeflected position of the considered system is unstable and the system significantly nonlinear, the question arises, if using just one eigenshape of the linear beam is a suitable approximation of the operation shapes during excited oscillations even in the case of harmonic excitation. Are there other, e.g. amplitude dependent, possibilities and/or should multiple ansatz functions be considered instead? In this paper, we focus mainly on the second point. Therefore, a bistable cantilever beam with harmonic base excitation is considered and experimental investigations of operation shapes are performed using a high-speed camera. The observed operation shapes are expanded in a similar way as it is done in a theoretical analysis by a corresponding mixed Ritz ansatz. The results show the existence of distinct superharmonics (as one can expect for a nonlinear system) but additionally the necessity to use more than one shape function in the discretization, covering also the amplitude dependence of the observed operation shapes

On the detection of artifacts in Harmonic Balance solutions of nonlinear oscillators

Harmonic Balance is a very popular semi-analytic method in nonlinear dynamics. It is easy to apply and is known to produce good results for numerous examples. Adding an error criterion taking into account the neglected terms allows an evaluation of the results. Looking on the therefore determined error for increasing ansatz orders, it can be evaluated whether a solution really exists or is an artifact. For the low-error solutions additionally a stability analysis is performed which allows the classification of the solutions in three types, namely in large error solutions, low error stable solutions and low error unstable solution. Examples considered in this paper are the classical Duffing oscillator and an extended Duffing oscillator with nonlinear damping and excitation. Compared to numerical integration, the proposed procedure offers a faster calculation of existing multiple solutions and their character

A novel excitation method for pyroshock simulation

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Pyroshocks are structural responses to transient excitation caused by the essential use of pyrotechnic devices in aerospace applications. In order to avoid damage in aerospace structures due to pyroshocks, tests are performed on earth prior to launching space modules. In these tests, explosive loads are often replaced by alternative excitation methods such as hammer pendulums or shakers simulating on earth the impact taking place in space. However, there does not yet exist an adequate excitation method satisfying all requirements of a fast, reliable, predictable and repeatable test setup. Whereas hammers are poorely controllable in terms of generating desired shock spectra, shakers show limitations in terms of the bandwidths of up to 10 kHz which are prescribed in the test specifications. The authors present a novel contactless and non-destructive excitation method for pyroshock test devices based on a mechatronic coupling by applying Lorentz forces to the carrying structure. For generating the corresponding magnetic field, the capacitor of a Resistor-Inductor-Capacitor RLC resonator circuit is initially charged and then discharged leading to high currents in the coil which is placed close to the carrying structure. Latter is then inducing a counter current in the aluminum structure which reacts with high multidirectional Lorentz forces. Any adjustments are done by tuning the properties of the circuit such as initial charge, capacitance and inductance. By connecting several different coils, frequency modulation and by splitting the currents more complex signals can be generated matching the natural frequencies of the structure. Almost all disadvantages of common excitation methods are eliminated by the proposed mechanism

ON THE DISCRETIZATION OF A BISTABLE CANTILEVER BEAM WITH APPLICATION TO ENERGY HARVESTING

A typical setup for energy harvesting is that of a cantilever beam with piezoceramics excited by ambient base vibrations. In order to get higher energy output for a wide range of excitation frequencies, often a nonlinearity is introduced by intention in that way, that two magnets are fixed close to the free tip of the beam. Depending on strength and position of the magnets, this can either result in a mono-, bi- or tristable system. In our study, we focus on a bistable system. Such systems have been investigated thoroughly in literature while in almost all cases the beam has been discretized by a single shape function, in general the first eigenshape of the linear beam with undeflected stable equilibrium position.There can be some doubts about the suitability of a discretization by a single shape function mainly due to two reasons. First: In case of stochastic broadband excitations a discretization, taking into consideration just the first vibration shape seems not to be reasonable. Second: as the undeflected position of the considered system is unstable and the system significantly nonlinear, the question arises, if using just one eigenshape of the linear beam is a suitable approximation of the operation shapes during excited oscillations even in the case of harmonic excitation. Are there other, e.g. amplitude dependent, possibilities and/or should multiple ansatz functions be considered instead?In this paper, we focus mainly on the second point. Therefore, a bistable cantilever beam with harmonic base excitation is considered and experimental investigations of operation shapes are performed using a high-speed camera. The observed operation shapes are expanded in a similar way as it is done in a theoretical analysis by a corresponding mixed Ritz ansatz. The results show the existence of distinct superharmonics (as one can expect for a nonlinear system) but additionally the necessity to use more than one shape function in the discretization, covering also the amplitude dependence of the observed operation shapes

Comparison of the dynamics of a Duffing equation model and experimental results for a bistable cantilever beam in magnetoelastic energy harvesting

Nonlinear energy harvesting systems, consisting of a piezo cantilever beam with two additional magnets placed near the beam’s free end, have received a lot of attention in the past decade. The most common approach to model this system is to discretize the beam in space with one modal ansatz function and to assume a cubic restoring force caused by the magnetic field. The magnets are positioned so that two stable equilibrium positions exist in addition to the unstable undeflected beam tip displacement, i.e. the system is bistable. This modeling procedure results in a Duffing equation with a negative linear and a positive cubic restoring term, which is capable to represent the bistability. However, its sufficiency is often just assumed without thorough experimental validation of the mentioned presumptions. In this paper the authors present the results of broad experimental investigations into the sufficiency of the Duffing equation as the underlying model of the mechanical subsystem (beam and magnets, but for the sake of simplicity without piezos). Therefore, a model is developed accordingly, following the approach of most publications, where a heuristic method is used to determine the cubic restoring force of the system. The theoretical predictions of the Duffing like model concerning the dynamical response to different harmonic base excitations are compared to experimental measurements done on a physical setup of the investigated system. The results are generally in good agreement, however particular limitations regarding the model are observed, as there is a shift of the occurring solutions to higher frequencies in the theoretical model compared to the experiments