The interest of the applied mechanics community in chaotic dynamics of
engineering systems has exploded in the last fifteen years, although
research activity on nonlinear dynamical problems in mechanics started
well before the end of the Eighties. It developed first within the
general context of the classical theory of nonlinear oscillations, or
nonlinear vibrations, and of the relevant engineering applications. This
was an extremely fertile field in terms of formulation of mechanical and
mathematical models, of development of powerful analytical techniques,
and of understanding of a number of basic nonlinear phenomena. At about
the same time, meaningful theoretical results highlighting new solution
methods and new or complex phenomena in the dynamics of deterministic
systems were obtained within dynamical systems theory by means of
sophisticated geometrical and computational techniques. In recent years,
careful experimental studies have been made to establish the actual
occurrence and observability of the predicted dynamic phenomena, as it
is vitally needed in all engineering fields. Complex dynamics have been
shown to characterize the behaviour of a great number of nonlinear
mechanical systems, ranging from aerospace engineering applications to
naval applications, mechanical engineering, structural engineering,
robotics and biomechanics, and other areas. The International Union of
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics grasped the importance of such complex
phenomena in the Eighties, when the first IUTAM Symposium devoted to the
general topic of nonlinear and chaotic dynamics in applied mechanics and
engineering was held in Stuttgart (1989).
