• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.351-375
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• 2019

The present work investigates the use of a rigid rocking block as a tool to reduce vibrations in a frame structure. The study is based on a simplified model composed by a 2-DOF linear system, meant to represent a general M-DOF frame structure, coupled with a rocking rigid block through a linear visco-elastic device, which connects only the lower part of the 2-DOF system. The possibility to restrain the block directly to the ground, by means of a second visco-elastic device, is investigated as well. The dynamic response of the model under an harmonic base excitation is then analysed in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the coupling in reducing the displacements and the drift of the 2-DOF system. The nonlinear equations of motion of the coupled assemblage 2-DOF-block are obtained by a Lagrangian approach and then numerically integrated considering some reference mechanical and geometrical quantities as variable parameters. It follows an extensive parametric analysis, whose results are summarized through behaviour maps, which portray the ratio between the maximum displacements and drifts of the system, with and without the coupling with the rigid block, for several combinations of system's parameters. When the ratio of the displacements is less than unity, the coupling is considered effective. Results show that the presence of the rocking rigid block improves the dynamics of the system in large ranges of the characterizing parameters.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.21-31
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• 2017

To control the stochastic vibration of a vibration-sensitive instrument supported on a beam, the beam is designed as a sandwich structure with magneto-rheological visco-elastomer (MRVE) core. The MRVE has dynamic properties such as stiffness and damping adjustable by applied magnetic fields. To achieve better vibration control effectiveness, the optimal bounded parametric control for the MRVE sandwich beam with supported mass under stochastic and deterministic support motion excitations is proposed, and the stochastic and shock vibration suppression capability of the optimally controlled beam with multi-mode coupling is studied. The dynamic behavior of MRVE core is described by the visco-elastic Kelvin-Voigt model with a controllable parameter dependent on applied magnetic fields, and the parameter is considered as an active bounded control. The partial differential equations for horizontal and vertical coupling motions of the sandwich beam are obtained and converted into the multi-mode coupling vibration equations with the bounded nonlinear parametric control according to the Galerkin method. The vibration equations and corresponding performance index construct the optimal bounded parametric control problem. Then the dynamical programming equation for the control problem is derived based on the dynamical programming principle. The optimal bounded parametric control law is obtained by solving the programming equation with the bounded control constraint. The controlled vibration responses of the MRVE sandwich beam under stochastic and shock excitations are obtained by substituting the optimal bounded control into the vibration equations and solving them. The further remarkable vibration suppression capability of the optimal bounded control compared with the passive control and the influence of the control parameters on the stochastic vibration suppression effectiveness are illustrated with numerical results. The proposed optimal bounded parametric control strategy is applicable to smart visco-elastic composite structures under deterministic and stochastic excitations for improving vibration control effectiveness.