Integrable Nonsmooth Nonholonomic Dynamics of a Rubber Wheel with Sharp Edges

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the dynamics of a wheel with sharp edges moving on a horizontal plane without slipping and rotation about the vertical (nonholonomic rubber model). The wheel is a body of revolution and has the form of a ball symmetrically truncated on both sides. This problem is described by a system of differential equations with a discontinuous right-hand side. It is shown that this system is integrable and reduces to quadratures. Partial solutions are found which correspond to fixed points of the reduced system. A bifurcation analysis and a classification of possible types of the wheel’s motion depending on the system parameters are presented.