Energy transfer and passive control of single-degree-of-freedom structures using a one-directional rotational inertia viscous damper

•A device known as a one-directional rotational inertia viscous damper is developed.•This device allows for the one-directional transfer of energy from the structure.•Performance comparisons are made to the rotational inertia viscous damper.•More effective control performance is observed with only a limited frequency shift. In this paper, a novel rotational inertia device known as a one-directional rotational inertia viscous damper (ODRIVD) is proposed for the passive control of structures and studied as an attachment to single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems. The ODRIVD allows for energy to be passively transferred from a primary structure to a rotational flywheel in a one-directional fashion. This one-directional transfer allows energy to be transferred to this flywheel, where it can be locally dissipated, but does not allow energy to be transferred back to the primary structure. This behavior is in contrast to traditional rotational inertia dampers, which utilize an inerter that allows for the two-way transfer of energy back and forth between the inerter and the primary structure. The proposed ODRIVD shows the ability for the passive control of SDOF systems without changing its natural frequency significantly, which typically occurs when using inerters. The mechanism of the proposed device and a model of its dynamics are presented in this paper and its behavior and effectiveness are investigated. The results of this study show that the ODRIVD has the potential for superior effectiveness at passive vibration control, in comparison to traditional rotational inertia dampers with the same rotational inertia mass and damping.