Transient response analysis of a steel beam with vacuum packed particles

• An original method of semi-active vibrations’ damping is presented.
• Free vibrations of a cantilever beam, encapsulated in a granular sleeve are investigated.
• Dynamic properties of the structure can be controlled by the underpressure value.
• Application of vacuum packed particles provides effective damping of vibrations.

In this paper the method of semi-active damping of vibrations is presented. Free vibrations of a cantilever steel beam encapsulated in a sleeve, filled with the granular material are investigated. Various values of the partial vacuum generated in the granular structure allow to control the global dissipative properties of the discussed system. The loose grains encapsulated in the hermetic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) envelope transform into a rigid, viscoplastic body as the jamming mechanism occurs when the underpressure is generated. Such phenomenon enables original strategies for semi-active damping. A detailed discussion related to the experimental results concerning the amplitude of vibration, damping, stiffness, and frequency of the continuous granular beam system is provided. The simplified Finite Element Model succeeded in describing the dynamic response of the structure.