Bifurcations and chaos in a forced cantilever system with impacts

The nonlinear dynamics of a cantilever system excited by a periodic force and taking into account the combined effects of impacts and nonlinear term due to the beam deflection is studied. Precise approximations of the beam deflection and consequently the overall stiffness are introduced to formulate the equation of motion for the cantilever system. Two impact models are investigated in this communication, respectively. One is a one-sided impact model, and the other is a both-sided impact model. Based on carefully numerical simulations, bifurcations and the possible chaotic motions for these two models are represented to show the combined effects of nonlinearities on the dynamics of these two models.