Design of particle damper for vertical vibration with approximate analysis

Abstract

This paper describes the particle damper design, based on the analytical single mass damper model and experiments with smaller size steel balls. The effects of various system parameters - including mass ratio, particle size, cavity dimensions, intensity, and frequency of excitation - were investigated using a SDOF structure under harmonic force excitation when the vertical excitation is applied to the structure. The damper designs call for that the damped motions of the structure equipped with steel ball particle dampers become periodic as well as kept approximately equivalent as predictions by the analytical model. It is shown that the suitable size of steel ball and container dimensions were found to be selected for the combinations of mass ratio and excitation levels in the vicinity of the optimum range of system. Thus, the particle dampers with steel balls, with moderate mass ratios, can be very effective in attenuating the response of lightly damped structures. © 2013 The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.