Vibration Suppression and Energy Harvesting with a Non-traditional Vibration Absorber: Transient Responses

This paper focuses on vibration suppression and energy harvesting using a non-traditional vibration absorber referred to as model B. Unlike the traditional vibration absorber, model B has its damper connected between the absorber mass and ground. The apparatus used in the study consists of a cantilever beam attached by a mass at its free end and an electromagnetic energy harvester. The frequency tuning is achieved by varying the beam length while the damping tuning is realized by varying the harvester load resistance. The question addressed is how to achieve the best performance under transient responses. The optimum tuning condition for vibration suppression is based on the Stability Maximization Criterion (SMC). The performance of energy harvesting is measured by the percentage of the harvested energy to the input energy. A computer simulation is conducted. The results validate the optimum parameters derived by the SMC. There is a trade-off between vibration suppression and energy harvesting within the realistic ranges of the frequency tuning ratio and damping ratio. A multi-objective optimization is conducted. The results provide a guideline for obtaining a balanced performance. An experimental study is carried out. The results verify the main findings from the computer simulation. This study shows that the developed apparatus is capable of achieving simultaneous vibration suppression and energy harvesting under transient responses.