Transitions and singularities during slip motion of rigid bodies

TL;DR

This paper investigates the complex transitions and singularities, including dynamic jamming, in the slip motion of rigid bodies with multiple contacts, expanding understanding of their dynamics and potential indeterminacies.

Contribution

It extends the analysis of slip motion transitions to systems with multiple contacts, identifying new singularities and routes to oscillations, and highlights the generic nature of dynamic jamming.

Findings

Dynamic jamming remains a generic phenomenon in multi-contact systems.

New singularities and solution indeterminacies are identified.

Routes from sliding to oscillations are characterized.

Abstract

The dynamics of moving solids with unilateral contacts are often modeled by assuming rigidity, point contacts, and Coulomb friction due to the simplicity of these models. The canonical example of a rigid rod with one endpoint slipping in two dimensions along a fixed surface (sometimes referred to as Painlev\'e rod) has been investigated thoroughly by many authors. The generic transitions of that system include three classical transitions (slip-stick, slip reversal, lift-off) as well as a singularity called dynamic jamming, i.e. convergence to a codimension 2 manifold in state space, where rigid body theory breaks down. The goal of this paper is to identify similar singularities arising in systems with multiple point contacts, and in a broader setting to make initial steps towards a comprehensive list of generic transitions from slip motion to other types of dynamics. We show that - in addition to the classical transitions - dynamic jamming remains a generic phenomenon. We also find new forms of singularity and solution indeterminacy, as well as generic routes from sliding to self-excited microscopic or macroscopic oscillations.