Robustness analysis for the vibration control performance of energy-harvesting tuned mass damper with uncertainties

Abstract Energy-harvesting vibration control strategy has been proposed and applied in different applications, including but not limited to automotive, mechanical, and civil engineering. However, when facing uncertainties from both internal and external environments, the robustness of its performance has rarely been evaluated. The energy-harvesting tuned mass damper (EHTMD) is a representative vibration control device integrated with the energy-harvesting function. This study investigates the robustness of an EHTMD installed on a structure with multi-uncertainties. First, the EHTMD modeling, the interval model, and the robustness evaluation framework are introduced. Uncertainties are considered for all parameters of an EHTMD, including the mechanical units, electromagnetic damper, and energy harvesting circuit. Subsequently, a series of dynamic simulations are performed on a damped benchmark single-degree-of-freedom frame with an EHTMD. The lower- and upper-bound structural vibration and generated power are estimated under free-vibration, harmonic-excitation, and random-excitation scenarios. The EHTMD performance robustness is evaluated through the interval response by incorporating the first-passage theory. The key factors in EHTMD that influence its robustness are identified. Results indicate promising robustness when using the energy-harvesting vibration control strategy to replace the conventional dampers, addressing one of the often-questioned issues of the energy-harvesting vibration control strategy.