Global bifurcation of a three-hinged rod subject to a kind of follower force

Abstract

The bifurcation solutions and their stability of a three-hinged rod under spring constraints and a kind of follower force is investigated. The equations for the system are nonlinear and possess Z₂⊕Z₂⊕Z₂ symmetry property. The group theoretic concepts and the symbolic computer software, MATHEMATICA are used for solving the equations. Parametric diagrams are constructed by plotting the curves of codimension-one singularity. These curves partition the parameter space into regions in which the bifurcation diagrams are qualitatively similar. The bifurcation solutions and their stability at typical points in the parametric diagrams are discussed.