Shock vibration control using a novel impact damper

Vibrations are one of the main reasons leading to partial damage and in some cases collapse of tall structures and the main cause of inaccurate operation performance in mechanical devices. One of the most common passive vibration control devices is called the Impact Damper. The impact damper is very common in industry due to its simplicity, low cost, robustness, effectiveness in vibration attenuation over a wide range of frequencies and accelerations. In this paper, the results of a preliminary experimental study for a newly developed impact damper, called Linear Particle Chain (LPC) impact damper, is presented. The experimental work is conducted to validate the vibration control effectiveness of the LPC impact dampers. The experiments' outcomes clearly indicate the significant effect of the LPC impact damper in suppressing the shock induced vibration compared to the conventional (single unit and multiunit) impact dampers. The preliminary results are promising for an effective role of the LPC impact damper in achieving the structures' stability and vibration serviceability.