ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO MELNIKOV ANALYSIS FOR FORCED OSCILLATORS

A method is presented based on energy balance to derive the Melnikov c riterion for a forced oscillator with one degree of freedom. An integr ation scheme is also discussed for numerically calculating the criteri on when the integrals involved cannot be evaluated analytically. The e xample of the forced pendulum with constant torque is considered and r esults from a numerical Melnikov analysis are compared with those obta ined by other methods, including homoclinic tangency following. (C) 19 95 Academic Press Limited