On the influence of failure on the dynamics of mechanical systems

Abstract

A model of the dynamics of a mechanical system that includes bodies whose contact is accompanied by the appearance of small relative displacement and brittle failure of their surfaces with the resultant appearance of an interlayer of chipped off elements between the bodies is constructed. The variation of the potential energy of the system upon displacement of the bodies through interlayer elements is investigated. Cases in which the limit model obtained when the rate of the relative displacement of the bodies reaches a zero value differs from the classical non-holonomic model of the dynamics of the system are identified. Sufficient conditions, which enable evaluation of the error and the boundaries of the applicability of the limit model, are formulated. ©2017