Objective Nonlinear harmonics are sensitive indicators of early-stage material degradation and microdamage. However, their generation strongly depends on the excitation frequency, amplitude, and nonlinear dynamic state of the material, leading to empirical selection of excitation parameters and ambiguous physical interpretations of harmonic signals. This study aims to reveal the inherent mechanism of harmonic generation from the perspective of nonlinear system bifurcation evolution in nonlinear ultrasonic testing, investigate the coupling mechanism among high-order harmonics, subharmonics, and system bifurcations, characterize the excitation threshold for the generation of the 1/2 subharmonic, and provide a theoretical basis for optimizing parameters for nonlinear ultrasonic detection. Methods Taking nonlinear elastic waves propagating in a one-dimensional viscoelastic rod as the research object, this study constructs a wave equation incorporating quadratic and cubic nonlinear terms and linear viscoelastic damping. A finite element discretization method is adopted to establish a 10-element numerical model with a fixed left end and sinusoidal excitation applied at the right end. By sweeping the external excitation amplitude, bifurcation diagrams of elastic waves over the full excitation amplitude range are obtained. Time-domain responses, phase portraits, and frequency spectra at each bifurcation stage are analyzed to quantitatively characterize the coupling between elastic wave bifurcation behavior and nonlinear harmonics. Two typical bifurcation modes, period-doubling bifurcation and pitchfork bifurcation, are discussed separately. On this basis, the amplitude‒frequency threshold characteristics of the 1/2 subharmonic are systematically investigated through multi-frequency scanning simulations. Finally, experimental tests are conducted on polyethylene plates with plastic damage to verify the simulated threshold characteristics of the subharmonic. Results and Discussions Numerical results show that pitchfork bifurcation breaks the central symmetry of nonlinear elastic-wave responses, thereby introducing even-order harmonics into the frequency spectra, whereas period-doubling bifurcation has a direct correspondence with the generation of subharmonics. After each period-doubling event, fractional subharmonics (1/2 and 1/4) emerge in the spectrum, while chaotic motion broadens the subharmonic peaks and reduces their identifiability. The amplitude of the 1/2 subharmonic exhibits stable sensitivity over a broader bifurcation range than that of the 1/4 subharmonic, making it more suitable for characterizing variations in material nonlinearity. The effective excitation zone of the 1/2 subharmonic exhibits a typical V-shaped distribution in the amplitude‒frequency phase plane, and the minimum excitation amplitude required to generate the 1/2 subharmonic occurs near twice the natural frequency of the structure. Experimental data obtained from plastically damaged polyethylene specimens are highly consistent with the simulated threshold characteristics of the 1/2 subharmonic, confirming the strong correlation between harmonic components and system bifurcations in nonlinear ultrasonic testing. Conclusions This study elucidates the dynamic correlation mechanism between nonlinear elastic wave bifurcations and harmonics and quantifies the V-shaped amplitude‒frequency excitation threshold of the 1/2 subharmonic. The results demonstrate that even-order harmonics emerge only after the symmetry breaking associated with pitchfork bifurcation, while subharmonics have stricter excitation threshold requirements than high-order harmonics. The good agreement between the experimental and numerical results validates the proposed bifurcation‒harmonic relationship. This work provides a novel analytical perspective for interpreting the conditions governing harmonic generation and offers a theoretical basis for optimizing excitation parameters and identifying early-stage microdamage in nonlinear ultrasonic testing.
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