Aircraft vibrations induced by low-frequency unsteady aerodynamic loads affect the comfort and safety of passengers and pilots and reduce the material fatigue life. In order to attain high and broadband vibration attenuation levels, a Semi-Active Tuned Mass Damper (SATMD) is developed, that exhibits adaptive multi-modal vibration control capabilities at low frequencies, has reduced weight, and requires minimal power consumption and structural interference. &nbsp;The SATMD consists of a piezoelectric device, connected to an external Resistive-Inductive electrical circuit, and an auxiliary mass. The piezoelectric transducer provides the stiffness for the resonant oscillator and at the same time converts kinetic energy transmitted from the primary structure to the resonant mass, to electrical energy which is subsequently directed into the electrical circuit.&nbsp; The resistive impedance in the shunt circuit provides dissipation, while the inductive impedance introduces an easily tunable electrical pole, which enhances electromechanical coupling in the system and highly interacts with the structural eigenfrequencies. Numerical validations and testing of this electromechanical damper have demonstrated great vibration suppression capabilities [1]. Yet, the previous studies have also shown high sensitivity of the damper performance to the location of its structural integration and to the electromechanical characteristics of the piezoelectric device.&nbsp;This paper investigates the improvement of the SATMD performance by tailoring: (1) the position of its structural integration, and (2) its effective mechanical and piezoelectric properties. After extracting the modal shapes of the airframe structure, and taking into consideration its geometric limitations, a methodology to find favorable attachment positions of the SATMD on the host structure to achieve higher and multi-modal vibration control results, is presented and tested. To further enhance the performance and to employ smaller resonant masses in the SATMD, the tailoring of the effective stiffness, equivalent piezoelectric coefficient and capacitance of the piezoelectric device is investigated, including its interaction &nbsp;with the shunt circuit resistance and inductance. The developed design and structural integration method is evaluated numerically and experimentally on a model Lab-scale airframe structure. The results point out the significance of optimizing the position of the SATMD structural integration, in conjunction with the targeted modal frequencies. More effective electromechanical characteristics of the TMD are also extracted, to satisfy specific performance requirements regarding vibration attenuation levels and resonant mass constraints, and an off-the-shelf piezoelectric device is specified using finite element models. Great vibration control results are simultaneously illustrated in the previous studies for three structural modes in a targeted frequency range. It is finally clarified that the design of SATMD characteristics depends also highly on the various shunt circuit impedance levels, illustrating the strong coupling and complexity of the overall electromechanical system.&nbsp;References[1]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; G. Chatziathanasiou, N. Chrysohoidis, K. Georgopoulos, and D. A. Saravanos, “Semi-Active Vibration Control of Aircraft Structures,” in AIAA Scitech 2021 Forum.&nbsp;

Design and Structural Integration of a Semi-Active Tuned Mass Damper for Improved Vibration Control on Airframe Structures

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/SMASIS/SMASIS2021/volume/85499

ASME 2021 Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS2021)

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