Y.L. Cheung

Design of a non-traditional dynamic vibration absorber

A non-traditional dynamic vibration absorber is proposed for the minimization of maximum vibration velocity response of a vibrating structure. Unlike the traditional damped absorber configuration, the proposed absorber has a linear viscous damper connecting the absorber mass directly to the ground instead of the main mass. Optimum parameters of the proposed absorber are derived based on the fixed-point theory for minimizing the maximum vibration velocity response of a single-degree-of-freedom system under harmonic excitation. The extent of reduction in maximum vibration velocity response of the primary system when using the traditional dynamic absorber is compared with that using the proposed one. Under the optimum tuning condition of the absorbers, it is proved analytically that the proposed absorber provides a greater reduction in maximum vibration velocity response of the primary system than the traditional absorber.

Minimization of the mean square velocity response of dynamic structures using an active-passive dynamic vibration absorber

An optimal design of a hybrid vibration absorber (HVA) with a displacement and a velocity feedback for minimizing the velocity response of the structure based on the H(2) optimization criterion is proposed. The objective of the optimal design is to reduce the total vibration energy of the vibrating structure under wideband excitation, i.e., the total area under the velocity response spectrum is minimized in this criterion. One of the inherent limitations of the traditional passive vibration absorber is that its vibration suppression is low if the mass ratio between the absorber mass and the mass of the primary structure is low. The active element of the proposed HVA helps further reduce the vibration of the controlled structure, and it can provide very good vibration absorption performance even at a low mass ratio. Both the passive and active elements are optimized together for the minimization of the mean square velocity of the primary system as well as the active force required in the HVA. The proposed HVA was tested on single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) and continuous vibrating structures and compared to the traditional passive vibration absorber.

Modal Power Flow Analysis of a Damaged Orthotropic Plate

The effect of the change of structural integrity to the change of the reactive power flow of a vibrating structure at resonance is explored both analytically and numerically. When an undamped structure undergoes free vibration at one of its natural frequencies, the reactive component is of modal pattern and it can be used as a new modal signature. The reactive power flow in this case can thus be termed as modal power flow. The instantaneous energy density associated with the vibration mode consists of a static component and a dynamic component, related to the mean total and Lagrangian energy densities, respectively. The modal power flow is relevant to the latter but independent of the former. The inverse problem of detecting structural damage due to the identification of variation of modal power flow pattern is investigated. Modal power flow of an orthotropic composite plate with a region of reduced stiffness in the plate is analyzed. Numerical tests show that the proposed method is effective for detection of the damage and the modal power flow is more sensitive to the change of plate stiffness than the strain mode shape in the test cases.