BASIN EROSION
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 242 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
The progressive invasion of a stable basin of attraction by instabilities generated by a chaotic attractor.
During this process the basin is progressively divided into layers of smaller and smaller regions of stability and of instability, i.e. becomes fractalized.
In such a case, the basin may become “… so thin or wispy that small disturbances can knock the system out of the basin to converge somewhere else” (A. McROBIE & M. THOMPSON, 1990, p.45).
These authors add: “To be safe any engineering system must have its attractor at a prudent distance from its basin boundary. Structural engineers refer to failure as ”exceedance of the ultimate limit stage“. Once a structure passes this condition, it will collapse” (Ibid.)
This quite insidious process of loss of stability is responsible for numerous structural disasters in buildings, ships, airplanes, bridges, etc. submitted to external disturbances like winds, overload, collisions, small seismic movements, etc…
It is also present in celestial mechanics, where H. POINCARÉ first met it in the study of Saturn rings.