Periodic Motions of Coupled Oscillators Excited by Dry Friction and Harmonic Force

Vibrating systems excited by dry friction are frequently encountered in technical applications. These systems are strongly nonlinear, and they are usually modeled as spring-mass oscillators. One of the most popular models of stick-slip oscillators consists of several masses connected by linear springs; one (or more) of the masses is in contact with a driving belt moving at a constant velocity. In the past, several authors investigated the behavior of this system, with different friction laws and with or without external actions and damping. In this work, we consider a system composed of two masses connected by linear springs. One of the mass is in contact with a driving belt moving at a constant velocity. Friction force, with Coulomb’s characteristics, acts between the mass and the belt. Moreover, it is assumed that the mass is also subjected to a harmonic external force. Several periodic orbits including stick phases and slip phases are obtained in closed form. In particular, the existence of periodic orbits including an overshooting part is proved. In the case of a nonmoving belt, a set of nonsticking periodic solutions is obtained, and we prove that these orbits are symmetrical in space and in time.