Approximate solution of a piecewise linear–nonlinear oscillator using the homotopy analysis method

Abstract

Most of the piecewise oscillators in engineering fields include nonlinear damping or stiffness and the contained damping or stiffness is strongly nonlinear, but to the authors’ knowledge little attention has been paid to those systems. Thus, in the present paper, a sinusoidal excited piecewise linear–nonlinear oscillator is analyzed. The mathematical model of the oscillator is described by a combination of a linear and a nonlinear differential equation which contains strong nonlinear terms of stiffness. An approximate solution for the oscillator is proposed by using the homotopy analysis method and matching method. The validity of the proposed solution is verified by comparing it with the exact solution. It is found that the approximate solution is in good agreement with the exact solution. The influence of some system parameters on the dynamical behavior of the oscillator is also investigated by the bifurcation diagrams of these parameters. From these bifurcation diagrams, one can observe the motion of the oscillator directly.