CEE graduate student Abdollah Javidialesaadi and assistant professor Nicholas Wierschem recently published two papers – one in Engineering Structures and one in the Journal of Vibration and Acoustics – about vibration control using tuned mass dampers enhanced with rotational inertia dampers. These papers investigate the closed-formed optimization of these devices and propose a new more effective configuration.
Rotational inertia dampers have been used for vibration reduction of Formula 1 racing cars. These dampers utilize an inerter that transfers translational motion to the localized rotational motion of a flywheel, which can provide large mass effects despite their relatively small size. Recently, these devices have been studied for passive control in structural engineering. These types of devices can be used for protecting civil structures by reducing their vibration during various types of excitation such as wind and earthquakes.
“We feel excited about the progress we are making and the contribution to the field of structural engineering and structural control,” said Wierschem. “These rotational inertia devices have a lot of potential and can help us protect structures more efficiently against wind and earthquake in the future.”