This book contains selected and expanded contributions presented at the 15th Conference on Acoustics and Vibration of Mechanical Structures held in Timisoara, Romania, May 30-31, 2019. The conference focused on a broad range of topics related to acoustics and vibration, such as analytical approaches to nonlinear noise and vibration problems, environmental and occupational noise, structural vibration, biomechanics and bioacoustics, as well as experimental approaches to vibration problems in industrial processes.

Contact mechanics was and is an important branch in mechanics which covers a broad field of theoretical, numerical and experimental investigations. In this carefully edited book the reader will obtain a state-of-the-art overview on formulation, mathematical analysis and numerical solution procedures of contact problems. The contributions collected in this volume summarize the lectures presented during the 4th Contact Mechanics Interantional symposium (CMIS) held in Hannover, Germany, 2005, by leading scientists in the area of contact mechanics.

This book presents recent research in the field of piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting in which intentionally designed nonlinearities as well as inherently present are widely considered. It provides an overview of the state-of-the-art, with a sharp classification into linear and nonlinear devices, and recalls the fundamentals of piezoelectricity and magnetostatics. A detailed treatment of linear and nonlinear mathematical modeling of piezoelectric harvesters is then developed to provide the reader with a wide range of modeling possibilities. Theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches to modeling the magnetic interaction are also provided. Several cases of innovative piezoelectric harvester designs based on magnetic interaction as a frequency up-conversion mechanism (FuC) are developed. Improvements of the magnetic FuC are proposed, in combination with indirect impacts as well as the manipulation of magnetic forces with novelty methods. Novel studies on the magnetic interaction itself and its implications for the dynamic behavior of the harvester are also summarized. The book provides an integrated view of theoretical, computational, and experimental research in this field, as such it can be useful for researchers interested in linear and nonlinear piezoelectric energy harvesting, for graduate courses on smart structures and devices, microsystems, and for designers.

All real systems in nature - physical, biological and engineering ones - can malfunction and fail due to faults in their components. Logically,the chances for malfunctions increase with the systems' complexity. The complexity of engineering systems is permanently growing due to their growing size and the degree of automation, and accordingly increasing is the danger of fail­ ing and aggravating their impact for man and the environment. Therefore, in the design and operation of engineering systems, increased attention has to be paid to reliability, safety and fault tolerance. But it is obvious that, compared to the high standard of perfection that nature has achieved with its self-healing and self-repairing capabilities in complex biological organisms, fault management in engineering systems is far behind the standards of their technological achievements; it is still in its infancy, and tremendous work is left to be done. In technical control systems, defects may happen in sensors, actuators, components of the controlled object - the plant, or in the hardware or soft­ ware of the control framework. Such defects in the components may develop into a failure of the whole system.

Modern technical advancements in areas such as robotics, multi-body systems, spacecraft, control, and design of complex mechanical devices and mechanisms in industry require the knowledge to solve advanced concepts in dynamics. “Mechanisms and Robots Analysis with MATLAB” provides a thorough, rigorous presentation of kinematics and dynamics. The book uses MATLAB as a tool to solve problems from the field of mechanisms and robots. The book discusses the tools for formulating the mathematical equations, and also the methods of solving them using a modern computing tool like MATLAB. An emphasis is placed on basic concepts, derivations, and interpretations of the general principles. The book is of great benefit to senior undergraduate and graduate students interested in the classical principles of mechanisms and robotics systems. Each chapter introduction is followed by a careful step-by-step presentation, and sample problems are provided at the end of every chapter.

This book discusses continuous and discrete nonlinear systems in systematic and sequential approaches. The unique feature of the book is its mathematical theories on flow bifurcations, nonlinear oscillations, Lie symmetry analysis of nonlinear systems, chaos theory, routes to chaos and multistable coexisting attractors. The logically structured content and sequential orientation provide readers with a global overview of the topic. A systematic mathematical approach has been adopted, featuring a multitude of detailed worked-out examples alongside comprehensive exercises. The book is useful for courses in dynamical systems and chaos and nonlinear dynamics for advanced undergraduate, graduate and research students in mathematics, physics and engineering.

Robust and Adaptive Control (second edition) shows readers how to produce consistent and accurate controllers that operate in the presence of uncertainties and unforeseen events. Driven by aerospace applications, the focus of the book is primarily on continuous-time dynamical systems.

This text is a short yet complete course on nonlinear dynamics of deterministic systems. Conceived as a modular set of 15 concise lectures it reflects the many years of teaching experience by the authors. The lectures treat in turn the fundamental aspects of the theory of dynamical systems, aspects of stability and bifurcations, the theory of deterministic chaos and attractor dimensions, as well as the elements of the theory of Poincare recurrences.Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the generation of periodic, quasiperiodic and chaotic self-sustained oscillations and to the issue of synchronization in such systems.

This book provides the presentation of the motion of pure nonlinear oscillatory systems and various solution procedures which give the approximate solutions of the strong nonlinear oscillator equations. The book presents the original author’s method for the analytical solution procedure of the pure nonlinear oscillator system. After an introduction, the physical explanation of the pure nonlinearity and of the pure nonlinear oscillator is given. The analytical solution for free and forced vibrations of the one-degree-of-freedom strong nonlinear system with constant and time variable parameter is considered. Special attention is given to the one and two mass oscillatory systems with two-degrees-of-freedom. The criteria for the deterministic chaos in ideal and non-ideal pure nonlinear oscillators are derived analytically. The method for suppressing chaos is developed. Important problems are discussed in didactic exercises. The book is self-consistent and suitable as a textbook for students and also for professionals and engineers who apply these techniques to the field of nonlinear oscillations.

With contributions from a number of pioneering researchers in the field, this collection is aimed not only at researchers and scientists in nonlinear dynamics but also at a broader audience interested in understanding and exploring how modern chaos theory has developed since the days of Poincaré.

This book, which presents the peer-reviewed post-proceedings of CSNDD 2012 and CSNDD 2014, addresses the important role that relevant concepts and tools from nonlinear and complex dynamics could play in present and future engineering applications. It includes 22 chapters contributed by outstanding researchers and covering various aspects of applications, including: structural health monitoring, diagnosis and damage detection, experimental methodologies, active vibration control and smart structures, passive control of structures using nonlinear energy sinks, vibro-impact dynamic MEMS/NEMS/AFM, energy-harvesting materials and structures, and time-delayed feedback control, as well as aspects of deterministic versus stochastic dynamics and control of nonlinear phenomena in physics.

This text is a short yet complete course on nonlinear dynamics of deterministic systems. Conceived as a modular set of 15 concise lectures it reflects the many years of teaching experience by the authors. The lectures treat in turn the fundamental aspects of the theory of dynamical systems, aspects of stability and bifurcations, the theory of deterministic chaos and attractor dimensions, as well as the elements of the theory of Poincare recurrences.Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the generation of periodic, quasiperiodic and chaotic self-sustained oscillations and to the issue of synchronization in such systems.

"Complex Systems: Fractionality, Time-delay and Synchronization" covers the most recent developments and advances in the theory and application of complex systems in these areas. Each chapter was written by scientists highly active in the field of complex systems. The book discusses a new treatise on fractional dynamics and control, as well as the new methods for differential delay systems and control. Lastly, a theoretical framework for the complexity and synchronization of complex system is presented.

This book provides the presentation of the motion of pure nonlinear oscillatory systems and various solution procedures which give the approximate solutions of the strong nonlinear oscillator equations. The book presents the original author’s method for the analytical solution procedure of the pure nonlinear oscillator system. After an introduction, the physical explanation of the pure nonlinearity and of the pure nonlinear oscillator is given. The analytical solution for free and forced vibrations of the one-degree-of-freedom strong nonlinear system with constant and time variable parameter is considered. Special attention is given to the one and two mass oscillatory systems with two-degrees-of-freedom. The criteria for the deterministic chaos in ideal and non-ideal pure nonlinear oscillators are derived analytically. The method for suppressing chaos is developed. Important problems are discussed in didactic exercises. The book is self-consistent and suitable as a textbook for students and also for professionals and engineers who apply these techniques to the field of nonlinear oscillations.

Cybernetical physics borrows methods from both theoretical physics and control engineering. It deals with the control of complex systems is one of the most important aspects in dealing with systems exhibiting nonlinear behavior or similar features that defy traditional control techniques. This book fully details this new discipline.