Experimental switching between coexisting attractors in the yoke–bell–clapper system.

This article focuses on the numerical and experimental investigation of multistability and switching between coexisting attractors in a real-world yoke–bell–clapper system. Two stable solutions coexist: one with a single impact per motion period producing sound (attractor ONE) and one without impact, resulting in silence (attractor ZERO). Using the Time-Dependent Stability Margin (TDSM) method, the study identifies moments along the periodic orbit when the system is most susceptible to perturbations, enabling controlled switching between attractors by timely applied impulses to the clapper. Experimental results on a full-scale bell system confirm the numerical predictions, demonstrating that attractor ONE is more stable and harder to switch from than attractor ZERO, and validating the effectiveness of TDSM in guiding perturbations to achieve desired transitions in complex multistable mechanical systems.