Rheology behavior and optimal damping effect of granular particles in a non-obstructive particle damper

Abstract

To explore the optimal damping mechanism of non-obstructive particle dampers (NOPDs), research on the relationship between the damping performance of NOPDs and the motion mode of damping particles in NOPDs was carried out based on the rheological properties of vibrated granular particles. Firstly, the damping performance of NOPDs under different excitation intensity and gap clearance was investigated via cantilever system experiments, and an approximate evaluation of the effective mass and effective damping of NOPDs was performed by fitting the experimental data to an equivalent single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system with no damping particles. Then the phase diagrams which could show the motion mode of damping particles under different excitation intensity and gap clearance were obtained via a series of vibration table tests. Moreover, the dissipation characteristic of damping particles was explored by the discrete element method (DEM). The study results indicate that when NOPDs play the optimal damping effect the granular Leidenfrost effect whereby the entire particle bed in NOPDs is levitated above the vibrating base by a layer of highly energetic particles is observed. Finally, the damping characteristics of NOPDs was explained by collisions and frictions between particle–particle and particle–wall based on the rheology behavior of damping particles and a new dissipation mechanism was first proposed for the optimal damping performance of NOPDs.