Qualitative Analysis of the Dynamics of a Trailed Wheeled Vehicle with Periodic Excitation

This article examines the dynamics of the movement of a wheeled vehicle consisting of two links (trolleys). The trolleys are articulated by a frame. One wheel pair is fixed on each link. Periodic excitation is created in the system due to the movement of a pair of masses along the axis of the first trolley. The center of mass of the second link coincides with the geometric center of the wheelset. The center of mass of the first link can be shifted along the axis relative to the geometric center of the wheelset. The movement of point masses does not change the center of mass of the trolley itself. Based on the joint solution of the Lagrange equations of motion with undetermined multipliers and time derivatives of nonholonomic coupling equations, a reduced system of differential equations is obtained, which is generally nonautonomous. A qualitative analysis of the dynamics of the system is carried out in the absence of periodic excitation and in the presence of periodic excitation. The article proves the boundedness of the solutions of the system under study, which gives the boundedness of the linear and angular velocities of the driving link of the articulated wheeled vehicle. Based on the numerical solution of the equations of motion, graphs of the desired mechanical parameters and the trajectory of motion are constructed. In the case of an unbiased center of mass, the solutions of the system can be periodic, quasi-periodic and asymptotic. In the case of a displaced center of mass, the system has asymptotic dynamics and the mobile transport system goes into rectilinear uniform motion.