The Melnikov criterion is used to examine a global homoclinic bifurcation and transition to chaos in the case of a quarter car model excited kinematically by the road surface profile. By analyzing the potential an analytic expression is found for the homoclinic orbit. By introducing an harmonic excitation term and damping as perturbations, the critical Melnikov amplitude of the road surface profile is found, above which the system can vibrate chaotically.

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We have applied the Melnikov criterion to examine a global homoclinic bifurcation and transition to chaos in a case of the Duffing system with nonlinear fractional damping and external excitation. Using perturbation methods we have found a critical forcing amplitude above which the system may behave chaotically. The results have been verified by numerical simulations using standard nonlinear tools as Poincare maps and a Lyapunov exponent. Above the critical Melnikov amplitude µ c , which is the sufficient condition of a global homoclinic bifurcation, we have observed the region with a transient chaotic motion.

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