Vibration Suppression with Resettable Device

Abstract

Novel low-power or semiactive devices are developed for vibration suppression applications. By manipulating the structural stiffness, the resisting forces generated by the devices are quite large and independent of velocity. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the devices and to justify the main assumptions used. The critical design issue of device placement is addressed analytically and verified. While much of the development here applies to the case of variable stiffness devices, we focus on resettable devices in which the device behaves like a linear spring. However, at appropriate times, the effective unstretched length of the device is changed—or reset—to extract energy from the vibrating structure.