Characteristics of optimized frequencies in nearly irreversible linear energy sinks

Nearly irreversible energy transfer can be obtained in undamped conservative linear systems where individually attached oscillators that make up a linear energy sink have a particular natural frequency distribution. This presentation describes the characteristics of optimized frequencies and their effect on the response of the primary structure. Since the optimization process for large numbers of attached oscillators is a time consuming process, alternative methods, such as polynomial curve fitting and interpolation techniques, have been considered to estimate optimized frequencies for larger systems. Undesired frequency differences in the realization of linear energy sinks are examined. Corresponding simulations show that a linear energy sink has a certain degree of robustness against uncertainties in the frequencies of attached oscillators. Presence of a small uncertainty does not significantly affect the response of the primary structure when compared to that in the absence of any uncertainty. Energy sink efficiently absorbs the vibratory energy on the primary structure even if a group of oscillators are left out.