Negative stiffness to mitigate vibration

In this work, led by Kyriakos Chondrogiannis in collaboration with Vasilis Dertimanis and Eleni Chatzi of the Chair of Structural Mechanics and Monitoring at ETH Zurich and Boris Jeremic (UC Davis), we propose a novel device for structural vibration attenuation, harnessing the effect of negative stiffness.

The device is designed for mounting at the top floor of new or existing buildings. By shifting the top-storey stiffness, the main resonance modes and overall vibration amplitudes are modified favoring vibration mitigation. We demonstrate how under seismic excitation, main structural components are relieved, with a major advantage lying in overall reduction of base shear.

Experimental tests on a model frame, performed at our MadSIM - multi axial shake-table testing facility, located at the IBK Structures Laboratory at ETH Zürich, verify the analytical findings. We further conduct numerical analyses via the Real-ESSI software, developed by our collaborators at the University of California, Davis, to better understand and improve the design of the suggested device.

This work forms part of the INSPIRE ITN project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Read more in Volume 260 of the International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, external page LINK