The force transmissibility of MDOF structures with a non-linear viscous damping device

In the present study, the concept of the Output Frequency Response Function (OFRF), recently proposed by the authors, is applied to theoretically investigate the force transmissibility of MDOF structures with a cubic non-linear viscous damping device. The results analytically show that the introduction of cubic non-linear damping can significantly reduce the transmissibility over all resonance regions for a Multiple Degree of Freedom (MDOF) structure and at the same time leave the transmissibility over the isolation region virtually unaffected. The analysis also indicates that a strong linear damping may shift the system resonances and compromise the beneficial effects of cubic non-linear viscous damping on the force transmissibility of MDOF structures. This suggests that a less significant linear damping together with a strong cubic non-linear damping can be used in MDOF structures to achieve a desired vibration isolation performance. This research work has a significant implication for the design of viscously damped MDOF structures for a wide range of practical applications. ► We theoretically investigate the force transmissibility of MDOF structures with a cubic nonlinear viscous damping device. ► Cubic nonlinear damping can significantly reduce the transmissibility over all resonance regions for MDOF structures. ► Cubic nonlinear damping has almost no effect on the transmissibility over the isolation regions.