On the Theory of the Acceleration Damper

Abstract The acceleration damper reduces the vibration of a mechanical system through momentum transfer by collision and conversion of mechanical energy into heat. A typical unit consists of a mass particle moving in a container fixed to the primary vibrating system. The direct problem is to determine the motion of a single-degree-of-freedom system with a damper, when the driving force is simple harmonic. The inverse is to determine the characteristics of a damper for reducing the vibration of the same system to a prescribed value. Numerical results indicate that the damper is most effective at resonance.