Forced nonlinear oscillations of semi-infinite cables and beams resting on a unilateral elastic substrate

In this work, we study the nonlinear oscillations of mechanical systems resting on a (unilateral) elastic substrate reacting in compression only.We consider both semi-infinite cables and semi-infinite beams, subject to a constant distributed load and to a harmonic displacement applied to the finite boundary. Due to the nonlinearity of the substrate, the problem falls in the realm of free-boundary problems, because the position of the points where the system detaches from the substrate, called Touch Down Points (TDP), is not known in advance. By an appropriate change of variables, the problem is transformed into a fixed-boundary problem, which is successively approached by a perturbative expansion method. In order to detect the main mechanical phenomenon, terms up to the second order have to be considered. Two different regimes have been identified in the behaviour of the system, one below (called subcritical) and one above (called supercritical) a certain critical excitation frequency. In the latter, energy is lost by radiation at infinity, while in the former this phenomenon does not occur and various resonances are observed instead; their number depends on the statical configuration around which the system performs nonlinear oscillations.