Stability and bifurcation analysis of a Van der Pol–Duffing oscillator with a nonlinear tuned vibration absorber

The Van der Pol (VdP) oscillator is a paradigmatic model for description of self-excited oscillations, which are of practical interest in many engineering applications. In this paper the dynamics of a VdP-Duffing (VdPD) oscillator with an attached nonlinear tuned vibration absorber (NLTVA) is considered; the NLTVA has both linear and nonlinear restoring force terms. In the first part of this work, the stability of the trivial solution of the system is investigated, following results of previous works.
The analysis allows to define an optimal tuning rule for the linear parameters of the absorber, which substantially enlarges the domain of safe operation of the primary system. In this case, the system loses stability through a double Hopf bifurcation.
In the second part of this work, the bifurcations occurring at the loss of stability are analytically investigated, using the technique of the center manifold reduction and transformation to normal form. The obtained results show the effects of the nonlinear parameter of the absorber, which, in turn, allows to define its optimal value in order to avoid subcriticality and reduce the amplitude of self-excited oscillations.