Nonlinear Dynamics of Structures with Joints

The majority of machine structures are ‘assemblies’ - i.e. they consist of two or more components assembled together. These jointed-components interact with each other at contact interfaces.

The forces acting at contact interfaces are generally nonlinear. Among the many sources of interaction-nonlinearity are:

i) unilateral contact interaction along directions normal to contact surfaces, i.e. where compressive stresses act but tensile stresses are not allowed;

ii) variation of contact area during loading, including closing and opening of clearances and interferences, resulting in contact-separation transitions over the whole or part of an interface surface; and

iii) friction forces, where their magnitude and stick-slip transitions are affected by contact-separation and normal stress variations.