Bifurcations in Hysteresis Systems Due to

Vibrations and Impacts

Fabio A. Leyton, Jorge E. Hurtado, and Gerard Olivar

Abstract. Operators of industrial machinery, in their daily work, are affected by vi-
brations produced by equipment. These vibrations are transmitted to the body, with
a considerable health risk amount for the long-time period, and leading to a heavy
environmental workplace. Vibrations can also cause damage to the machinery, mis-
adjusting pieces and rising up maintenance costs. In order to correctly modeling
these nonlinear systems we use the well-known Bouc-Wen model, which shows
a good agreement between numerical simulations and experiments. Other models
like Masing, Biot, and Spencer, which is a generalization of Bouc-Wen, can also
be considered in order to display the same hysteretic phenomena. The Bouc-Wen
model, due to its simplicity and versatility has been extensively studied in the sci-
entific community, and successfully applied to several hysteresis problems. In the
work we will show in our paper, we study the bifurcation diagrams of an application
of the Bouc-Wen model to industrial machinery. We found transitions from period-
icity to quasiperiodic and chaotic motion. Moreover, recently described big-bang
codimension-two bifurcation has also been found. Close to the codimension-two
point, an infinite number of periodic orbits exists.

1 Introduction
In their daily routine, any operator of industrial machinery is subject to withstand
the vibrations produced by the team with which he works. These vibrations are

Fabio A. Leyton · Jorge E. Hurtado

Department of Civil Engineering,
Campus La Nubia, Universidad nacional de Colombia, sede Manizales
e-mail: {faleytonm,jehurtadog}@unal.edu.co
Gerard Olivar
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering & Computer Sciences, Universidad
nacional de Colombia, sede Manizales
e-mail: golivart@unal.edu.co

G. Stépán et al. (Eds.): Dynamics Modeling & Interaction Cont., IUTAM BOOK SERIES 30, pp. 127–134.
springerlink.com c Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011
128 F.A. Leyton, J.E. Hurtado, and G. Olivar

transmitted to his body, affecting long-term health, and giving a little suitable work
environment to perform their working activities comfortably. These vibrations can
also cause damage to the machinery itself, leading to mismatch of some parts and
are therefore raising maintenance costs. This is why the study of these vibrations is
crucial for the improvement of conditions in work areas in industries. They pose a
threat both to the operator health and to spending on repairs and maintenance.
Mathematically, vibrations correspond to nonlinear phenomena such as periodic
orbits, quasiperiodicity or chaos. Chaos control in such systems, leading to a reduc-
tion of the orbit amplitude would allow preventing unwanted vibrations in machin-
ery. If the phenomenon is well-modeled and characterized, control systems can be
designed to solve this problem optimally, and the implementation of passive control
devices for this purpose can be explored.
In the new era of implementation of smart materials magneto-rheological fluids
(MR) must be considered, as they have the advantage of reacting to a magnetic field
and do not need a great source of power. MR fluids were developed in the 1940s
mainly by Winslow and Rainbow. Over the 90’s, MR dampers have been recognized
by a number of attractive features for use in vibration control applications.
Several references that address analysis of vibrations in machinery [2] are based
on the design of the structure. Taking into account that all types of machinery
produce different effects, mathematical models are provided for the representation
of these systems. Approximations through hysteretic models are considered and
phenomenon analysis is performed.
For the modeling of the systems considered, the Bouc-Wen model is one of the
best which fits these phenomena, since it allows for nonlinear and non-smooth be-
havior. Other models can also be considered, which also show hysteretic behavior,
such as that of Masing, Biot, or Spencer, which is simply an extension of the Bouc-
Wen model. The Bouc-Wen model has been examined in many studies worldwide,
such as in [1], [4]-[13], where its use lead to satisfactory results.
At present, there are very advanced computational tools for the analysis of non-
linear behavior, and it is also common to find research on new methods for deter-
mining characteristics of chaotic systems. Bifurcation analysis considers the system
behavior when parameters are varied.

2 Bouc-Wen Model
In industry, there are many situations where it is possible to reduce vibrations. The
use of vibration isolators elements reduce the transmission of excitation forces or
vibrations themselves among the different parts of the system, and it has recently at-
tracted much research. When the excitation frequency matches a natural frequency
of the system, a phenomenon called resonance appears. One of the most important
feature of resonance is that it gives rise to large displacements and amplifies the
system vibrations. In most mechanical systems, the presence of large displacements
is an undesirable phenomenon, since it causes the appearance of large stresses and
Bifurcations in Hysteresis Systems Due to Vibrations and Impacts 129

Fig. 1 Left: Insulators. Right: degree-1 model

strains that can lead some parts of the system to collapse. Consequently, the res-
onance conditions must be avoided in the design and construction of mechanical
systems. The rigidity of the system is one of the parameters that can be modified in
order to change the natural frequencies of a mechanical system.
When a rotating machine is attached directly on a rigid foundation, it will be un-
der the action of an harmonic force due to imbalance of the rotating machine, which
will be superimposed on the static charge associated with the weight. Therefore, an
elastic element (insulator) is placed between the machine and the foundation that
seeks to reduce the forces transmitted to the latter. The system can be idealized as a
one degree of freedom one. The insulator element incorporates both elastic stiffness
(k) as a damping (c) (see Fig. 1).
Magneto-rheological dampers (MR) consist of a suspension of iron particles in a
viscous medium such as oil. The application of a magnetic field in the liquid causes
the iron particles to align, increasing the resistance of the fluid passing a liquid state
to a semisolid state. MR dampers are relatively inexpensive to manufacture because
the fluid properties are not sensitive to pollutants. Other attractive features include
its small power requirements, reliability and stability. They need only 20-50 watts
of power and can operate with a battery, eliminating the need for a great source
of energy. Since the device strength can be adjusted by varying the magnetic field
strength, mechanical valves are not necessary, which makes a very reliable device.
The fluid responds in milliseconds.
Hysteresis models are based on empirical parametric approaches using linear and
nonlinear elements. They allow simulation of system memory and energy dissipa-
tion. Energy dissipation must be included in the model, through, for example, fric-
tion elements, springs and other mechanical elements. The classical model of Mas-
ing hysteresis combines Hooke elements (based on an elastic body model) and a
number of St. Venant elements (based on models of plastic body), in parallel. The
Biot hysteresis model includes Newton elements (Newton flow model) instead of St.
Venant ones. Often, mechanical seals are also used, like in Spencer’s model, which
is an extension of the Bouc-Wen model.
130 F.A. Leyton, J.E. Hurtado, and G. Olivar

Fig. 2 Bouc-Wen model Fig. 3 Rheological model for human body

2.1 Model Equations

The dynamics of Bouc-Wen model is governed by the following set of differential
equations (see Figs. 2 and 3);

mẍ + cẋ + k(α x + (1 − α )z) = F cos ω t

ż = Aẋ − β |ẋ||z|n−1 z − γ ẋ|z|n (1)

with 0 < α < 1, β + γ > 0, β − γ ≥ 0 and n ≥ 1.

Transferability is defined as the resultant of the components due to the spring and
damper (see Fig. 2). The isolation is achieved when the transmissibility is√ less than
1. It may be noted that this requires that the excitation frequency is, at least 2 times
the system’s natural frequency. Nearly unity, the system acts not as an insulator,
but as an amplifier, transmitting the displacements efforts far beyond the originals.
This may reduce the value of transmissibility, reducing the natural frequency of the
system. As regards damping, transmissibility can also be reduced by decreasing the
damping ratio Anyway some cushioning is needed to avoid infinitely large vibration
amplitudes when the system passes through resonance.
We are interested now on applying the hysteresis Bouc-Wen model to a ma-
chine supported on an inertia-block, with vibration isolated from the foundation (see
Fig 4).
Writing the equations for the machine and the hysteresis model we get

m1 ẍ1 + k1 (α (x1 − x2 ) + (1 − α )z) = F

ż = Aẋ − β |ẋ||z|n−1 z − γ ẋ|z|n
m2 ẍ2 + c2 ẋ2 + k2 x2 − k1 (α (x1 − x2) + (1 − α )z) = 0 (2)

where subindex 1 is related to the machinery and subindex 2 to the foundation.

Bifurcations in Hysteresis Systems Due to Vibrations and Impacts 131

Fig. 4 Scheme of the machine-isolation blocks

Hysteresis Loop Hysteresis Loop

1500 1500

1000 1000

500 500
Fr

Fr

0 0

−500 −500

−1000 −1000

−1500
−0.5 −0.4 −0.3 −0.2 −0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 −0.6 −0.4 −0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6

x x

Fig. 5 Left: hard hysteresis. Right: soft hysteresis

2.2 Numerical Simulations and Bifurcations

We are now interested on the numerical simulation of the Bouc-Wen model given by
Eq.2. Parameters β and γ vary in the ranges corresponding to Fig. 6. The hysteresis
effect can be soft or hard (see Fig. 5). Since the second equation involves an absolute
value, care must be taken in the numerical simulations. Being a non-smooth system,
an event-driven scheme was used.
keeping constant all parameters of the model, but β and γ (related to the
hysteresis) we found periodic and quasiperiodic orbits (see Fig. 6).
 132 F.A. Leyton, J.E. Hurtado, and G. Olivar

x2
x2

x1 x1

Fig. 6 Periodic and quasiperiodic orbits

Poincaré Map – Bouc-Wen (Machine) Poincaré Map – Bouc-Wen (Machine)

1.5 0.6

0.4
1

0.2
0.5
0
x  (t)

x  (t)

0 −0.2

−0.5 −0.4

−0.6
−1
−0.8

−1.5
−1

−2 −1.2
−0.03 −0.02 −0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 −0.02 −0.015 −0.01 −0.005 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02
x(t) x(t)
Poincaré Map – Bouc-Wen (Machine)
0.6

0.4

0.2

0
x  (t)

−0.2

−0.4

−0.6

−0.8

−1

−1.2
−0.02 −0.015 −0.01 −0.005 0 0.005 0.01 0.015

x(t)

Fig. 7 Quasiperiodic evolution to torus destruction β = 45, γ = 44.00, 44.50, 44.67

Numerical simulations of this model show that there is a transition from period-
icity to quasiperiodicity, and quasiperiodic motion evolves to torus destruction in a
well-known route to chaotic motion (see Fig. 7).
Bifurcations in Hysteresis Systems Due to Vibrations and Impacts 133

Codimension-2 bifurcation diagram – Machine

50

45

40

35

30
β

25

20

15

10

0
−40 −30 −20 −10 0 10 20 30 40

Fig. 8 Two-dimensional bifurcation diagram showing a codimension-two big-bang bifurca-

tion point

A two-dimensional bifurcation diagram shows that there exists a codimension-

two point in the parameter space where rays of periodicity converge. This
codimension-two point has been named a big-bang bifurcation [3]. Close to this
point periodic orbits of all periodicities exist, and thus it is a source of quasiperiodic
and chaotic phenomena (see Fig. 8).

3 Conclusion
A Bouc-Wen model, which corresponds to mechanical systems with hysteresis, such
as in seismic effects in buildings, has been numerically simulated. Simulations show
that a codimension-two big-bang bifurcation point exists in the parameter space,
where periodic orbits coexist. This is a source of aperiodic motion. Future work
is directed towards chaos and quasiperiodicity control through isolators. Also, an
extended model which includes coupling of vibrating machinery and the human
body will be studied.

Acknowledgements. G. Olivar acknowledges financial support from DIMA, CeiBA Com-

plexity and Vicerectorı́a de Investigación from Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

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