Oscillators with a quasi-constant restoring force: Approximations for motion

Abstract

In this work approximate solutions to conservative single-degree of freedom oscillators with a restoring force close to the one with a constant magnitude are derived. Approximate solutions are assumed as a truncated Fourier series and harmonic balancing is applied. In addition, the assumption that the response of the oscillators considered is close to the response of the antisymmetric oscillator is introduced. It is suggested in a novel way how to modify the differential equation of motion with the assumed solution so as to derive explicit expressions for the frequency and the amplitudes of harmonics in the first, second and third approximation are presented. The comparison of the results obtained with numerical solutions as well as with some existing approximate analytical results from the literature is also carried out, showing excellent accuracy. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.