Vibration attenuation of conductive beams by inducing eddy currents

Abstract

The increasing requirements for structural vibration control in many industries, require innovative attenuation techniques. In this work, the phenomenon of eddy currents is proposed to reduce the vibration of conductive and non-magnetic beam-like structures without modifying the system, neither the weight nor the stiffness. The motion of a conductive material in a stationary magnetic field induces eddy currents, which in turn generate a repulsive force and attenuate the vibration. In this study, the vibrational response of a thin aluminium beam under a partial and stationary magnetic field is analysed. The influence of the eddy currents is experimentally studied in the bandwidth from 0 to 1 kHz and a preliminary numerical model is proposed. The results show the vibration of all the length of the beam can be attenuated by inducing eddy currents, whereas the natural frequencies of the system remain unmodified. The attenuation of the vibration is more remarkable at low frequencies and when the position of the magnetic field coincides with a maximum vibration of a mode.