A quasi-zero-stiffness dynamic vibration absorber

Dynamic vibration absorbers (DVAs) are practical solutions for vibration absorption. However, it is still a challenge to absorb ultra-low frequency vibration. In this paper, a quasi-zero-stiffness (QZS) DVA is proposed for ultra-low frequency vibration absorption. Firstly, the conceptual design of the QZS DVA is carried out by using a simple oblique-spring model. Then, the dynamic behaviors of a primary system with a QZS DVA under harmonic excitation are obtained by the harmonic balance method (HBM) and verified by numerical analyses. Moreover, the dynamic behaviors under random and impulse are also given numerically. The results show that good performances of ultra-low frequency vibration absorption can be achieved by the QZS DVA under harmonic excitation, and the QZS DVA notably outperforms the linear DVA for mitigating vibration under random and impulse excitations. Finally, experiments on a vibratory system with a QZS DVA are conducted to validate the design concept of QZS DVA for ultra-low frequency vibration absorption (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.