Broadband Damping Properties of Particle Dampers Mounted to Dynamic Structures

Background The background of this work is the classification of the broadband properties of particle dampers (PDs). This broadband characteristic has experienced little systematic investigation in experiments. Objective So the primary objective of this paper is to find a measure to quantify the broadband damping properties of PDs. Also the demonstration of applicability to technical structures is a desired goal and the experiments provide a sound basis. Methods The methods for evaluating the performance of particle dampers and tuned mass dampers target the reduction of vibration amplitudes over the frequency range. The test bench consists of a mechanical frame structure with multiple eigenfreqencies up to 200 Hz harmonically excited with an electrodynamic shaker. From the differences in the dynamic behaviour the performance metric will be derived and evaluated. Results As a result, a dynamic structure is set up as an effective test bench for different damper configurations. Differences of the tested concepts in regard to the dynamic behaviour over a wide frequency range are observed. From the experimental data a performance metric is deduced to quantify these differences. Conclusion The conclusions drawn from this paper are, that PDs provide high damping over a wide frequency range. Furthermore, with a suitable performance metric this broadband damping properties can be quantified for the use in further development of PDs.