Impacts in a system with certain unilateral couplings (Q1117740)

The characteristics of the dynamics of a system with ideal unilateral couplings resulting from the possibility of a simultaneous impact against two or more couplings are studied. It is shown that a correct definition of an impact impulse during repeated impact is only possible in exceptional cases, that is, if the couplings are orthogonal or the impact is of an absolutely inelastic nature (in spite of the elasticity of each coupling individually). In the general case a percussive impulse does not possess the property of a continuous dependence on the initial conditions and the number of surfaces of discontinuity in phase space increases rapidly as the number of repetitions of the impact increases. In view of this, the problem of determining the post-impact motion in systems with a large number of unilateral couplings is of a stochastic nature. The equations of motion are regularized in the case of orthogonal couplings and absolutely elastic collisions. Examples are considered which show the effect of the geometric and elastic properties of the couplings on the motion of certain mechanical systems.