Control of a Tuned Vibration Absorber Based on SMA Wires

Abstract

This paper presents the control simulation results of a tuned vibration absorber (TVA) that utilizes the properties of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. A conventional passive TVA is effective when it is precisely tuned to the frequency of a vibration mode; otherwise, resonance may occur that could damage the system. Additionally, in many applications the frequency of the primary system often changes over time. For example, the mass of the primary system can change causing a change in its natural frequency. This frequency change of the primary system can significantly degrade the performance of the TVA. To cope with this problem, many alternative TVA’s (such as semiactive, adaptive, and active TVA’s) have been studied. As another alternative, this paper investigates the use of Shape Memory Alloys (SMA’s) in passive TVA’s in order to improve the robustness of the TVA’s subject to mass change in the primary system. This allows for effective tuning of the stiffness of the TVA to adapt to the changes in the primary system’s natural frequency. To this end, a close-loop control system adjusts the applied current to the SMA wires in order to maintain the desired stiffness. The model, presented in this paper, contains the dynamics of the TVA along with the SMA wire model that includes phase transformation, heat transfer, and the constitutive relations. The closed-loop robustness analysis is performed for the SMA-TVA and is compared with the equivalent passive TVA. For the robustness analysis, the mass of the primary system is varied by ± 30% of its nominal mass. The simulation results show that the SMA-TVA is more robust than the equivalent passive TVA in reducing peak vibrations in the primary system subject to change of its mass.