Periodic solution finder for an impact oscillator with a drift

In this paper, an efficient semi-analytical method is developed to compute periodic solutions for a new model of an impact oscillator with a drift, which explains the progression mechanism in vibro-impact systems and can be used to optimize their performance. The method constructs a periodic response assuming that each period is comprised of a sequence of distinct phases for which analytical solutions are known. For example, a period may consist of the following sequential phases: (I) contact with progression, (II) contact without progression, (III) no contact and (IV) contact without progression. Using this information, a system of four piecewise linear first order differential equations is transformed to a system of non-linear algebraic equations. The method allows one to accurately predict a range of control parameters for which the best progression rates are obtained.