Internal resonances in whirling strings involving longitudinal dynamics and material non-linearities

Internal resonance mechanisms between near-commensurate longitudinal and transverse modes of a taut spatial string are identified and studied using an asymptotic method, and the influence of material non-linearities on the resulting solutions is considered. Geometrical non-linearities couple longitudinal motions to in-plane and out-of-plane transverse motions, resulting in resonant and non-resonant interactions between linearly orthogonal string modes. Past studies have included only transverse modes in the description of string motions and have predicted periodic, quasi-periodic, and chaotic whirling motions arising from the geometrical non-linearities. This study considers further the inclusion of longitudinal motions and a non-linear material law, which are both appropriate for the study of rubber-like strings. An asymptotic analysis captures the aforementioned whirling motions, as well as a new class of whirling motions with significant longitudinal content. Periodic, quasi-periodic, and aperiodic (likely chaotic) responses are included among these motions. Their existence, hardening-softening characterization, and stability are found to be highly dependent on the magnitude of the material non-linearities. (C) 2000 Academic Press.