Nonlinear vibration localisation in a symmetric system of two coupled beams

Abstract

We report nonlinear vibration localisation in a system of two symmetric weakly coupled nonlinear oscillators. A two degree-of-freedom model with piecewise linear stiffness shows bifurcations to localised solutions. An experimental investigation employing two weakly coupled beams touching against stoppers for large vibration amplitudes confirms the nonlinear localisation.