This thesis investigates bifurcations associated with periodic orbits with complete chatter, as well as bifurcations associated with homoclinic trajectories, in the dynamics of a pressure relief valve model. A combination of original numerical implementations with analytical tools found in the existing literature enables a deeper understanding of the dependence of the valve dynamics on system parameters. In particular, the transition from complete to incomplete chatter along a family of periodic orbits is explored to find a cascade of bifurcations that are then investigated further using a discrete-time approximation to the system dynamics. In addition, a toolbox that formulates a boundary value problem associated with a complete chatter sequence is developed within the computational framework of the continuation package coco. Lastly, a Shilnikov-type homoclinic bifurcation is located and the global manifold structure near this bifurcation point is explored using continuation methods applied to appropriate boundary value problems
