The nonlinear tuned vibration absorber in practice

Vibration mitigation of engineering structures is commonly achieved by means of passive absorbers, often designed following the well-established Den Hartog’s equal-peak strategy.
However, the linearity assumption this method build on is challenged when the primary structure exhibits frequency-energy-dependent oscillations. In this context, the development of a nonlinear counterpart to classical tuned vibration absorber would be extremely beneficial.
The present study introduces a new nonlinear tuned vibration absorber (NLTVA) whose nonlinear functional form is tailored according to the frequency-energy dependence of the nonlinear primary structure. The design is based on a nonlinear generalization of Den Hartog’s method, to ensure equal peaks in the nonlinear receptance function for an as large as possible range of forcing amplitudes. The numerical findings are verified experimentally using a primary structure consisting of a cantilever beam with a geometrically nonlinear component at its free end. The NLTVA design relies on a doubly clamped beam, which is fabricated thanks to 3D printing. The performance of the absorber is compared with that of an equivalent linear tuned absorber.