Abstract This paper investigates the mechanism of Intermodal Targeted Energy Transfer (IMTET) in a nonlinear taut string interacting with a point impenetrable barrier. Energy redistribution among vibrational modes is achieved through intermittent contact interactions. Unlike previous studies, which primarily relied on numerical optimization or semi-phenomenological impact models, we present an analytical treatment of the transient contact dynamics, with a goal to provide physical insights into the underlying IMTET mechanisms. Analytical expressions for the contact force, displacement, and velocity fields throughout the entire interaction between the string and the barrier are derived. The analysis reveals that the barrier-induced nonlinearity efficiently facilitates the energy transfer from low-frequency to higher-frequency modes. This targeted energy transfer significantly enhances passive energy dissipation, particularly in systems with frequency-dependent (material) damping. The findings yield deeper understanding of the intrinsic IMTET dynamics and allow more efficient optimization methodologies.
Varshavchik et al. (Thu,) studied this question.