Numerical investigation of rotating nonlinear energy sink for shock mitigation

Passive nonlinear targeted energy transfer (TET) is addressed here by investigating a lightweight rotating nonlinear energy sink (NES). The rotating sink mass has an essentially nonlinear inertial coupling with the two degree-offreedom linear system (the primary test structure). The proposed rotating NES is numerically investigated where it is found to passively absorb and rapidly dissipate a considerable portion of the initial energy induced by impulse to the linear structure. The parameters of the rotating NES are optimized for the best performance in the vicinity of intermediate and high loads. The fundamental mechanism for significant energy transfer to the NES is its rotational mode; the oscillatory mode of the NES dissipates far less energy. The frequency-energy dependences are investigated through the frequency-energy plot (FEP). Early and strong resonance capture at the lowest modal frequency is observed between the rotator and the structure, at which a significant portion of the induced energy is transferred and dissipated by the rotator. The performance of this device is found to be comparable to existing, stiffnessbased NES designs. However, this device is less complicated and more compact.