Investigation into the linear velocity response of cantilever beam embedded with impact damper

The impact damper causes momentum exchange between the primary structure and impact mass, and achieves vibration attenuation through repeated collisions. A cantilever beam embedded with the impact damper is modeled in the form of a continuous system, and the equations of motion are formulated based on the mode superposition method. The mechanism of the impact damper is investigated, and linear velocity response is achieved by a proper selection of a mass ratio of 8.4%, clearance within 0.30 mm, and excitation force ranged from 3.2 N to 5.5 N. The reverse collision has higher damping than co-directional collision, based on which a new criterion of response regimes is proposed for the design of the impact damper. The velocity responses of the damped cantilever beam under sinusoidal and impulse excitation are simulated and verified via the sinusoidal sweep experiments. The velocity amplitudes of the damped cantilever beam are linearly decreased when the clearance is increased within 0.30 mm. Finally, linear and nonlinear velocity responses of the damped cantilever beam are discussed. It is found that the nonlinear velocity response reaches larger damping, but that a strongly modulated response exists.