PERIODIC AND CHAOTIC RESPONSES OF AN AXIALLY ACCELERATING VISCOELASTIC BEAM UNDER TWO-FREQUENCY EXCITATIONS

Abstract

This study focuses on the steady-state periodic response and the chaotic behavior in the transverse motion of an axially moving viscoelastic tensioned beam with two-frequency excitations. The two-frequency excitations come from the external harmonic excitation and the parametric excitation from harmonic fluctuations of the moving speed. A dynamic model is established to include the finite axial support rigidity, the material derivative in the viscoelastic constitution relation, and the longitudinally varying tension due to the axial acceleration. The derived nonlinear integro-partial-differential equation of motion possesses space-dependent coefficients. Applying the differential quadrature method (DQM) and the integral quadrature method (IQM) to the equation of the transverse motion, a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations is obtained. Based on the Runge–Kutta time discretization, the time history of the axially moving beam is numerically solved for the case of the primary resonance, the super–harmonic resonance, and the principal parametric resonance. For the first time, the nonlinear dynamics is studied under various relations between the forcing frequency and the parametric frequency, such as equal, multiple, and incommensurable relationships. The stable periodic response and its sensitivity to initial conditions are determined using the bidirectional frequency sweep. Furthermore, chaotic motions are identified using different methods including the Poincaré map, the maximum Lyapunov exponent, the fast Fourier transforms, and the initial value sensitivity. Numerical simulations reveal the characteristics of the periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic motion of a nonlinear axially moving beam under two-frequency excitations.