The motion of a body with elastic elements around a fixed point in action-angle variables

The motion of a mechanical system formed by a rigid body rotating around a fixed point and carrying elastic rods, which undergo flexural deformation, is investigated. The asymptotic method of constructing approximate equation s describing the evolution of the system motion in canonical action-angle v ariables is employed. The method of separating the motions and using the av eraging operator enables the qualitative features of the behaviour of the s ystem to be investigated, since, as a rule, the equations of motion of such systems cannot be integrated in explicit form. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science L td. All rights reserved.