Abstract
In the calculation of periodic oscillations of nonlinear systems –so-called limit cycles – approximative and systematic engineeringmethods of linear system analysis are known. The techniques, working inthe frequency domain, perform a quasi-linearization of the nonlinear system,replacing nonlinearities by amplitude-dependent describing functions.Frequently, the resulting equations for the amplitude and frequency ofpresumed limit cycles are solved directly by a graphical procedure in aNyquist plane or by solving the nonlinear equations or a parameteroptimization problem. In this paper, an indirect numerical approach isdescribed which shows that, for a system of nonlinear differentialequations, the eigenvalues of the quasi-linear system simply indicateall limit cycles and, additionally, yield stability regions for thelinearized case. The method is applicable to systems with multiplenonlinearities which may be static or dynamic. It is demonstrated foran example of aircraft nose gear shimmy dynamics in the presence ofdifferent nonlinearities and the results are compared with those fromsimulation.
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Somieski, G. An Eigenvalue Method for Calculation of Stability and Limit Cycles in Nonlinear Systems. Nonlinear Dynamics 26, 3–22 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017384211491
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017384211491