BIFURCATION ANALYSIS ON A SELF-EXCITED HYSTERETIC SYSTEM (Q4655692)

The authors consider periodic solutions (cycles) of a modified Van der Pol equation with an additional hysteresis term. A mechanical system leading to such a model has been previously considered in the literature. The equation contains a scalar bifurcation parameter \(\lambda\) measuring the negative friction. The hysteresis term is a hysteron with characteristics described by three additional parameters \(a, b, c\). The authors obtain a complete classification of bifurcations of cycles which appear as the bifurcation parameter \(\lambda\) varies. This means, for example, that if one parameter, say \(c\), of the hysteresis nonlinearity is fixed, they identify all the domains on the plane \(a, b\) of the other two parameters of the hysteresis nonlinearity such that each domain is characterised by a topologically unique bifurcation diagram depicting the cycle amplitude versus \(\lambda\). The boundaries between the domains (transition varieties) are found explicitly. In this way, the authors found a class of new bifurcation diagrams completing the results previously reported on this system. The results are confirmed by numerical simulations. To obtain these results, the authors consider a more general bifurcation problem for a piecewise smooth continuous function. The problem is transformed to several smooth problems with one- and two-sided constraints and then, by appropriate changes of variables, to unconstrained problems. Then the singularity theory is used to identify transition varieties. The proposed method can be of interest in other applications.