Publications
Nonlinear Characterization of a Joint Exhibiting a Reduction in Damping at High Energy
Even with the advent of additive manufacturing, the vast majority of complex structures are comprised of individual components held together with bolted joints. However, bolted joints present a challenge for mechanical design as they are a source of nonlinearity and increase the uncertainty in the overall behavior of the system in a dynamic environment. While many advances have been made in the ability to accurately model and test bolted joints, it is still an open area of research. Modes of vibration that exercise bolted joints typically exhibit nonlinear behavior where, with increased excitation level, the natural frequency decreases (i.e. softens) and the damping increases. However, the system under study for this work has an axial mode which does not follow this trend; it does soften as expected, but, after an initial increase, the apparent damping decreases with excitation amplitude. At the highest excitation level, the frequency of the mode decreases to that of a nearby bending mode and the response is amplified nearly 500% above that at lower levels. It is unclear whether the decrease in damping is due to the coupling of the two modes or if it is a characteristic of the axial mode. Therefore, the objective of this project is to investigate the coupling between the axial and bending modes and the dynamics leading to the decrease in damping.