On the Design of the Piecewise Linear Vibration Absorber

This paper explores the potential of the piecewise linearvibration absorber in a system subject to narrow band harmonic loading.Such a spring is chosen because the design of linear springs is commonknowledge among engineers. The two-degrees-of-freedom system is solvedby using the Incremental Harmonic Balance method, and response aspectssuch as stiffness crossing frequency and jump behaviour are discussed.The effects of mass, stiffness, natural frequency ratios, and stiffnesscrossing positions on the suppression zone are probed. It is shown thata hardening absorber can deliver a wider bandwidth than a linear oneover a range of frequencies. The absorber parameters needed to producegood designs have been determined and the quality of the realizedsuppression zone is discussed. Design guidelines are formulated to aidthe parameter selection process.