Example of a suspension bridge ODE model exhibiting chaotic dynamics: A topological approach ✩

Using an elementary phase-plane analysis combined with some recent results on topological horseshoes and fixed points for planar maps, we prove the existence of infinitely many periodic solutions as well as the presence of chaotic dynamics for a simple second order nonlinear ordinary differential equation arising in the study of Lazer–McKenna suspension bridges model. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.