Vibration dataset of a cantilever beam with gap nonlinearity

This dataset contains time‑domain acceleration measurements collected on a clamped–free (cantilever) beam with a tip mass, exhibiting a clearance nonlinearity. The nonlinearity is produced by a small mechanical gap near the free end of the beam, which leads to intermittent contact/impact dynamics and characteristic nonlinear vibration phenomena. The beam is excited around its first bending resonance using three types of input signals: Random excitation at multiple amplitude levels, suitable for broadband identification and nonlinear system characterization. Sine sweep‑up and sweep‑down excitation at two amplitude levels, capturing jump phenomena. Stepped‑sine excitation at fixed frequency and increasing amplitudes to investigate steady‑state nonlinear responses. This dataset is designed to support research on: Nonlinear structural dynamics Modeling of contact and gap nonlinearities Identification and validation of nonlinear models Benchmarking for data‑driven system identification