Passive transient wave confinement due to nonlinear joints in coupled flexible systems

We numerically study transient wave propagation in linear flexible waveguid es coupled by means of nonlinear backlash joints. No structural disorder is assumed to exist in the repetitive systems under consideration. Early-time spatial confinement of the wave motion due to the backlashes is detected f or certain values of the systems' parameters. A discussion of the causes of this nonlinear wave localization is given. A transient confinement indicat or is established and employed for the design optimization of the backlash joints for optimum energy confinement in the directly forced subsystem. The optimization study reveals that strong passive motion confinement can occu r, even when strong coupling between subsystems exists, complementing previ ous studies in the literature where nonlinear localization due to weak subs ystem coupling was investigated. The present results have applicability to designs of joints for practical large-scale repetitive space structures.