The harmonic balance (HB) method is widely used in the literature for analyzing the periodic solutions of nonlinear mechanical systems. The objective of this paper is to exploit the method for bifurcation analysis, i.e., for the detection and tracking of bifurcations of nonlinear systems. To this end, an algorithm that combines the computation of the Floquet exponents with bordering techniques is developed. A new procedure for the tracking of Neimark-Sacker bifurcations that exploits the properties of eigenvalue derivatives is also proposed. The HB method is demonstrated using numerical experiments of a spacecraft structure that possesses a nonlinear vibration isolation device.

a b s t r a c tThis study addresses the mitigation of a nonlinear resonance of a mechanical system. In view of the narrow bandwidth of the classical linear tuned vibration absorber, a nonlinear absorber, termed the nonlinear tuned vibration absorber (NLTVA), is introduced in this paper. An unconventional aspect of the NLTVA is that the mathematical form of its restoring force is tailored according to the nonlinear restoring force of the primary system. The NLTVA parameters are then determined using a nonlinear generalization of Den Hartog's equal-peak method. The mitigation of the resonant vibrations of a Duffing oscillator is considered to illustrate the proposed developments.

The objective of the present study is to explore the connection between the nonlinear normal modes of an undamped and unforced nonlinear system and the isolated resonance curves that may appear in the damped response of the forced system. To this end, an energy balancing technique is used to predict the amplitude of the harmonic forcing that is necessary to excite a specific nonlinear normal mode. A cantilever beam with a nonlinear spring at its tip serves to illustrate the developments. The practical implications of isolated resonance curves are also discussed by computing the beam response to sine sweep excitations of increasing amplitudes.Comment: Journal pape

The nonlinear tuned vibration absorber (NLTVA) is a recently-developed nonlinear absorber which generalizes Den Hartog's equal peak method to nonlinear systems. If the purposeful introduction of nonlinearity can enhance system performance, it can also give rise to adverse dynamical phenomena, including detached resonance curves and quasiperiodic regimes of motion. Through the combination of numerical continuation of periodic solutions, bifurcation detection and tracking, and global analysis, the present study identifies boundaries in the NLTVA parameter space delimiting safe, unsafe and unacceptable operations. The sensitivity of these boundaries to uncertainty in the NLTVA parameters is also investigated.

As a tool for analyzing nonlinear large-scale structures, the harmonic balance (HB) method has recently received increasing attention in the structural dynamics community. However, its use was so far limited to the approximation and study of periodic solutions, and other methods as the shooting and orthogonal collocation techniques were usually preferred to further analyze these solutions and to study their bifurcations. This is why the present paper intends to demonstrate how one can take advantage of the HB method as an efficient alternative to the cited techniques. Two different applications are studied, namely the normal modes of a spacecraft and the optimization of the design of a vibration absorber. The interesting filtering feature of the HB method and the implementation of an efficient bifurcation tracking extension are illustrated.