TIME-VARYING PASSIVE VIBRATION ABSORPTION FOR FLEXIBLE STRUCTURES

A time varying extension of the passive vibration absorber is describe d, which increases the effectiveness of a small number of passive vibr ation absorbers on large or changing flexible structures. Initially, t he extended absorber is targeted on a subset of the modes of the flexi ble structure. A stable switching scheme is described, which allows th e absorber to target different subsets of modes, or to adapt to change s in the flexible structure. Computer simulation and experimental work are given which demonstrate the effectiveness of the extended absorbe r.