Particle impact dampers: Past, present, and future

Particle damping, an effective passive vibration control technology, is developing dramatically at the present stage, especially in the aerospace and machinery fields. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of particle damping technology, beginning with its basic concept, developmental history, and research status all over the world. Furthermore, various interpretations of the underlying damping mechanism are introduced and discussed in detail. The theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, together with their pros and cons are systematically expounded, in which a discrete element method of simulating a multi-degree-of-freedom structure with a particle damper system is illustrated. Moreover, on the basis of previous studies, a simplified method to analyze the complicated nonlinear particle damping is proposed, in which all particles are modeled as a single mass, thereby simplifying its use by practicing engineers. In order to broaden the applicability of particle dampers, it is necessary to implement the coupled algorithm of finite element method and discrete element method. In addition, the characteristics of experimental studies on particle damping are also summarized. Finally, the application of particle damping technology in the aerospace field, machinery field, lifeline engineering, and civil engineering is reviewed at length. As a new trend in structural vibration control, the application of particle damping in civil engineering is just at the beginning. The advantages and potential applications are demonstrated, whereas the difficulties and deficiencies in the present studies are also discussed. The paper concludes by suggesting future developments involving semi-active approaches that can enhance the effectiveness of particle dampers when used in conjunction with structures subjected to nonstationary excitation, such as earthquakes and similar nonstationary random excitations.