Abstract
Experimental results are presented on nonlinear vibrations of a bowed-type beam deformed by stretched strings under periodic lateral excitations. A beam is clamped at the center and deformed to a curved configuration by stretched strings which connect both ends of the beam. Nonlinear responses of the beam are measured under periodic lateral excitation. Chaotic response of the bowed-type beam is examined by the power spectrum and the maximum Lyapunov exponent. Vibration modes which contribute to the chaos are inspected by the principal component analysis. Dominant chaotic response of the bowed-type beam is generated from the sub-harmonic resonances of 2/3 order with the lowest mode of vibration accompanied by the dynamic snap-through. From the results of the principal component analysis, it is found that the chaotic response is dominated by the lowest mode of vibration and by a symmetric mode due to the dynamic snap-through.
