Snapping of a Shallow Arch With Harmonic Excitation at One End

In this paper we demonstrate both numerically and experimentally that it is possible to make a pinned-pinned shallow arch snap to and remain vibrating on the other side by harmonic excitation in the longitudinal direction at the end. One end of the arch is fixed in space, while the other end is attached to a mechanical shaker via a spring. The shaker-mount is first moved a small distance toward the arch to ensure that the arch assembly possesses two stable equilibrium positions, one on each side of the base line. The spring connecting the arch end and the mechanical shaker is carefully chosen such that a small shaker stroke can induce a large vibration amplitude in the arch. The natural frequencies of the two (initial and snapped, respectively) positions are measured first. By adjusting the excitation frequency of the mechanical shaker to the first natural frequency of either position of the arch, we demonstrate that the arch can be snapped to and remain vibrating on the other side when the magnitude of the electric current flowing through the shaker is properly chosen. The vibrant snapping action of the arch recorded in the experiment is confirmed by numerical simulation.