Nonlinear damped pendulum treated by linear equivalence (Q1582557)

The authors study the nonlinear motion of a rigid damped pendulum governed by the equation \(\ddot y+ 2\lambda\dot y+ \omega^2\sin y= 0\). The linear equivalence method (LEM) is applied to examine the problem for various values of damping ratio \(\chi= \lambda/\omega\) and for various initial data. The complete LEM representations of the solution allow to study third-order effects in the cases \(\chi< 1\), \(\chi> 1\) and \(\chi= 1\). The authors also derive some formulae involving fifth-order effects. The LEM consists in the application of an exponential transformation which reduces the considered nonlinear problem to a linear partial differential equation and to an infinite system of first-order linear differential equations.