A variable stiffness device selection and design tool for lightly damped structures

Due to the wide variety of types and capabilities of variable stiffness devices, selecting a variable stiffness device for vibration control of a structure can be difficult. A method for selecting and understanding the performance of variable stiffness devices was developed. First, a parameter for roughly comparing variable stiffness devices was identified using the literature. Next, variable stiffness devices in the literature were summarized and compared by their ability to change stiffness. A single-degree-of-freedom variable stiffness vibration suppression problem was solved in an exact implicit form using the variable stiffness comparison parameter. The exact solution was used to create an approximate solution directly linking past variable stiffness approximations to the exact solution in a systematic way. The result is an engineering design tool that can be used in the design of structures with variable stiffness devices.