Nonlinear interactions and chaotic dynamics of suspended cables with three-to-one internal resonances

Nonlinear planar oscillations of suspended cables subjected to external excitations with three-to-one internal resonances are investigated. At first, the Galerkin method is used to discretize the governing nonlinear integral–partial-differential equation. Then, the method of multiple scales is applied to obtain the modulation equations in the case of primary resonance. The equilibrium solutions, the periodic solutions and chaotic solutions of the modulation equations are also investigated. The Newton–Raphson method and the pseudo-arclength path-following algorithm are used to obtain the frequency/force–response curves. The supercritical Hopf bifurcations are found in these curves. Choosing these bifurcations as the initial points and applying the shooting method and the pseudo-arclength path-following algorithm, the periodic solution branches are obtained. At the same time, the Floquet theory is used to determine the stability of the periodic solutions. Numerical simulations are used to illustrate the cascades of period-doubling bifurcations leading to chaos. At last, the nonlinear responses of the two-degree-of-freedom model are investigated.