Preface to the topical issue on applied and nonlinear dynamics: Part II

The current special issue of the GAMM Mitteilungen, which is the second of a two-part series, contains several contributions on the topic of Applied and Nonlinear Dynamics. We are very happy that several teams of authors have accepted our invitation to report on recent developments, research highlights and emerging application areas in Applied and Nonlinear Dynamics.

This second part of the topical issue on Applied and Nonlinear Dynamics includes five interesting papers. These are devoted to numerical and experimental methods in applied and nonlinear dynamics as well as advanced applications of multibody systems and optimal control methods to dynamical systems.

Contribution 3 deals with stationary solutions in applied dynamics. Thereby a unified framework for the numerical calculation and stability assessment of periodic and quasi-periodic solutions based on invariant manifolds is presented. Paper 2 gives an overview of dynamic human body models in vehicle safety, a unique application of multibody dynamics. In paper 1, a family of total Lagrangian Petrov-Galerkin Cosserat rod finite element formulations is presented. Paper 5 discusses continuation methods for lab experiments of nonlinear vibrations. Finally paper 4 deals with the optimal operation of dielectric elastomer wave energy converters under harmonic and stochastic excitation.