A Ball-Contacting Dynamic Vibration Absorber with Adjustable Stiffness and Nonlinear Characteristics

Abstract

Structural vibration has always been a major concern in the engineering field. A dynamic vibration absorber in the form of contacts with adjustable stiffness (CDVA) offers effective vibration suppression and can improve conventional dynamic vibration absorbers with high sensitivity to frequency deviation and difficulty in adjusting the frequency. In this research, first, based on the theoretical model of the contact between a rubber ball and an inner cone, the feasibility of changing the axial contact state to change the structure’s natural frequency was verified using an ANSYS simulation. A theoretical model of the static contact stiffness between the ball and the inner cone was constructed using Hertzian contact theory and Hooke’s law, and a theoretical model of the cubic nonlinear elastic restoring force was used to characterize the stiffness properties of the rubber ball during compressive rebound. The steady-state frequency response equations of the main vibration structure were derived using the averaging method in conjunction with the two-degree-of-freedom dynamics model, and the stability of the solutions to the frequency response equations was obtained in conjunction with the stability determination criterion. Then, the impact of the CDVA’s design parameters on the nonlinear dynamic response of the primary vibration structure was simulated and analyzed. The resulting findings can serve as guidance for designing dynamic vibration absorber parameters. Based on the principles of ball-inner cone contact, a dynamic vibration absorber structure was proposed. A design test was conducted to verify the correctness of the contact stiffness model, and an experimental study was carried out to investigate the law of change in the dynamic stiffness and damping of the principle structure of CDVA under dynamic excitation conditions. Finally, the vibration test platform of the solidly supported beam structure was constructed, and vibration suppression tests of the CDVA in different compression states were conducted to investigate the tunability and feasibility of CDVA vibration suppression. The results showed that the dynamic vibration absorber had good vibration absorption characteristics and could be used for single-mode vibration suppression of multimodal main structures.