Investigation on the tunable bi-stable clustered energy conversion inspired dynamic vibration absorbers: A theoretical study

This paper introduces an energy conversion inspired vibration control methodology and presents a representative prototype of tunable bi-stable energy converters. This work is concerned on improving energy conversion and absorption performance of tunable bi-stable clustered energy conversion inspired dynamic vibration absorbers (EC-DVAs). The deterministic parametric analysis of the energy transfer performance of clustered EC-DVAs is conducted. The nonlinear energy capture behaviors including transient energy transfer and snap-through motions are studied. It can be uniformly understood that the excellent energy transfer and conversion efficiency can be achieved by modulating the length ratio from 0.6 to 0.8. It is found that clustered EC-DVAs with four uniform cells and constant length ratio σ = 0.8 can obtain significant energy conversion and targeted energy transfer performance without requiring tedious active regulation when the system is subjected to wide-amplitude impulsive scenarios. Therefore, the proposed tunable bi-stable system composed of clustered EC-DVAs with state-of-the-art adaptive control strategies is a potential alternative for energy reuse and vibration suppression of mechanical components exposed to kaleidoscopic impulses. Graphical Abstract