Stability and Bifurcations of Nonlinear Multibody Systems

Many technical systems are adequately described only by means of nonlinear mathematical models. Multibody systems became the most important mechanical models for analyzing engineering dynamics problems. The long-term or steady-state behavior of such systems can have a periodic, quasi-periodic, or chaotic character. Changes of the qualitative behavior are characterized by local and global bifurcations. This paper deals with stability problems in multibody system dynamics and explains different bifurcation phenomena as well as methods for analyzing them. Results from a simple oscillator prove the applicability of the methods.