Study on Energy Dissipation Mechanism of an Impact Damper System

The objective of this paper is to investigate how higher damping is achieved by energy dissipation as high-frequency vibration due to the addition of impact mass. In an impact damper system, collision between primary and impact masses cause an exchange of momentum resulting in dissipation of energy. A numerical model is developed to study the dynamic behavior of an impact damper system using a multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) system with augmented Lagrangian multiplier contact algorithm. Mathematical modeling and numerical simulations are carried out using ansys fea package. Studies are carried out for various mass ratios subjecting the system to low-frequency high amplitude excitation. Time responses obtained from numerical simulations at fundamental mode when the system is excited in the vicinity of its fundamental frequency are validated by comparing with experimental results. Magnification factor evaluated from numerical simulation results is comparable with those obtained from experimental data. The transient response obtained from numerical simulations is used to study the behavior of first three modes of the system excited in vicinity of its fundamental frequency. It is inferred that dissipation of energy is a main reason for achieving higher damping for an impact damper system in addition to being transformed to heat, sound, and/or those required to deform a body.