This supplement is responsive to the NSF initiative "Facilitation Awards for Handicapped Scientists and Engineers". The equipment comprises special access desks to house equipment provided by an earlier equipment grant, and a Vax Graphic tablet to address the PI's finger dexterity difficulties. The equipment project being supplemented provides equipment to experimentally investigate the nonlinear oscillatory behavior of structures. The equipment, a dynamic signal analyzer, collects data from physical structures undergoing vibration tests. Nonlinear oscillations have been studied extensively in the past. These studies have focused on long term time response, the behavior exhibited long after transients have decayed. This project investigates how the motion evolves during the decay of the transients. Two projects benefit from the use of the equipment. The first focuses on the vibration of a cantilevered beam. Theoretical claims have been made for the potential of dangerous vibrations for certain types of disturbances. This project will attempt to substantiate these claims. A second project is concerned with rotating systems where theoretical claims have also been made for serious nonlinear behavior. These claims will be investigated through experimentation.
