Application of the Thurston bifurcation solution strategy to problems with modal interaction

The solution of bifurcation problems with closely-spaced critical points is achieved by first separating the singular part of the equation system encountered during a Newton iteration and carrying the Taylor expansion of the reduced system out to higher order. This separation is accomplished by transforming the equation system into an equivalent system in which some of the original unknowns are replaced with an equal number of modal amplitude coefficients. This method was used to continue the analysis of two significant example problems well past multiple fiburcation points, allowing a detailed examination of postbuckling behavior in the presence of modal interaction.