A nonsmooth pendulum model with multiple impulse effect is constructed to detect the bifurcation of a periodic orbit with multiple jump discontinuous points. Subharmonic Melnikov function of this kind of nonsmooth systems is studied. Differences of subharmonic Melnikov function between the nonsmooth system with multiple jump discontinuities and the smooth system are analyzed by using the Hamiltonian function and piecewise integral method. Applying the recursive method and perturbation principle, the effects of the jump discontinuous points on the subharmonic Melnikov function are converted to integral items which can be easily calculated. Hence, the subharmonic Melnikov function for the subharmonic orbit with multiple jump discontinuous points is obtained. Finally, the existence conditions for periodic motion of the subharmonic orbit are derived and the efficiency of the conclusions is verified via numerical simulations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.