Synchronous rotation of the set of double pendula: experimental observations

Chaos. 2012 Dec;22(4):047503. doi: 10.1063/1.4740460.

Abstract

We study the occurrence of the synchronous rotation of a set of four uncoupled nonidentical double pendula arranged into a cross structure mounted on a vertically excited platform. Under the excitation, the pendula can rotate in different directions (counter-clockwise or clockwise). It has been shown that after a transient, many different types of synchronous configurations with the constant phase difference between pendula can be observed. The experimental results qualitatively agree with the numerical simulations.