New Class I intermittency in the dynamics of periodically forced spheroids in simple shear flow

• Published in: Physics letters. A 1997-03, Vol.227 (1), p.72-78
• Main Authors: Anil Kumar, C.V., Ramamohan, T.R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0375-9601; 1873-2429
• DOI: 10.1016/S0375-9601(97)00030-3

We report a physically realisable system in which the possibility of an interesting and novel type of Class I intermittency is demonstrated. Price and Mullin [Physica D 48 (1991) 29] have observed experimentally a similar type of phenomenon in which a hysteretic form of intermittency with extreme regularity of the bursting is observed. The system described in this work appears to be one of the very few ODE systems describing a physically realisable system showing a nonhysteretic form of Class I intermittency with nearly regular reinjection period. The regularity of the bursting is unaffected by variation in the control parameter. The maximum Lyapunov exponents of the bursts and laminar phase are estimated separately and indicate existence of chaos. The length of the laminar phase shows scaling behaviour typical of Class I intermittency near the tangent bifurcation and also shows new scaling behaviour. Return maps of the dynamical system are presented to explain the behaviour observed.