Analytical and experimental study of eddy current damper for vibration suppression in a footbridge structure

Wai Kei Ao, Paul Reynolds

Research output: Chapter in book / Conference proceedingConference article published in proceeding or bookAcademic researchpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Eddy current damping has been extensively developed in recent years and is widely used in the mechanical engineering sector, for example, in railway and turbine braking systems as well as in car vibration control systems. Vibration control approaches for civil engineering structures still usually rely on more traditional approaches, such as viscous and tuned mass dampers. The use of novel Eddy current damping devices has the potential to complement these traditional approaches and is the focus of the work presented here. The Eddy current damper (ECD), which is a kind of electromagnetic induction damper, comprises a permanent magnet, a conductor and framing components. In this study, an ECD is developed and investigated to provide an alternative to viscous dampers that often exhibit undesirable non-linear characteristics arising from friction. Since the moving components of an ECD are not in contact, the influence of friction is negligible. A finite element model is initially used to evaluate the ECD damping properties and employed on a footbridge structure. The finite element and analytical results demonstrate satisfactory augmentation of damping effect under both random and harmonic signal input.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDynamics of Civil Structures - Proceedings of the 35th IMAC, A Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics 2017
EditorsShamim Pakzad, Juan Caicedo
PublisherSpringer New York LLC
Pages131-138
Number of pages8
ISBN (Print)9783319547763
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes
Event35th IMAC Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, 2017 - Garden Grove, United States
Duration: 30 Jan 20162 Feb 2016

Publication series

NameConference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series
Volume2 Part F2
ISSN (Print)2191-5644
ISSN (Electronic)2191-5652

Conference

Conference35th IMAC Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, 2017
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityGarden Grove
Period30/01/162/02/16

Keywords

  • Conductive material
  • Eddy current damper (ECD)
  • Electromagnetic forces
  • Method of image
  • Permanent magnet

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering
  • Computational Mechanics
  • Mechanical Engineering

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