NONLINEAR DYNAMICS AND CHAOS OF A FINITE-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM MODEL OF ABUCKLED ROD

The simple example of a mechanical system expressively exhibiting unpr edictable and chaotic motions is a rod compressed by a supercritical f orce and subjected to a time-dependent transverse loading. Dynamics of this system can be analyzed either through modal analysis or through another lumped parameter modelling, for example, by discretization of the rod into an ensemble of segments. The paper is aimed to present th e latter formulation of the problem and to discuss numerical results o btained in this framework.