Vibration control using a roller-type vibration absorber with a rolling elliptic surface

Abstract

This paper investigates the vibration control of a structure using a roller-type vibration absorber (RVA) with a rolling elliptic surface. The RVA is attached to the structure which is modeled as a single-degree-of-freedom system, subjected to harmonic excitation. The equations of motion of the structure with the RVA are derived, and they include nonlinear terms of the inertia and restoring moment. Frequency response curves are theoretically determined. The natural frequency of the RVA with a rolling elliptic surface depends on the radius of a roller and the lengths of horizontal and vertical axes of the rolling elliptic surface. Therefore, there exist some pairs of the lengths of the horizontal and vertical axes of the rolling elliptic surface in such a manner that the tuning condition holds, that is, p₀ = p₁ , where p₀ and p₁ are the natural frequencies of the structure and the RVA, respectively. The influences of the shape of the rolling surface on vibration suppression by the RVA are investigated. It is shown that the RVA with a laterally-long rolling elliptic surface is more effective for suppression of the resonance peaks than that with a vertically-long rolling elliptic surface.