Rigidity softening inerter tuning damping device

Abstract

The invention discloses a rigidity softening inerter tuning damping device which comprises a mounting bottom plate, an external connecting piece, an elastic unit, a guide unit, an inerter unit and an energy consumption unit. The elastic unit comprises at least two elastic pieces, the guide unit is in linkage with the elastic unit, the inerter unit is in transmission connection with the elastic unit, and the energy consumption unit is in friction fit with the inerter unit. Under the small displacement working condition, the single elastic piece independently provides restoring force, and the guiding unit and the mass block form the tuning mass. Under the large-displacement working condition, the at least two elastic pieces are connected in series to achieve rigidity softening and adapt to rigidity degradation in the plastic stage of the main structure, the guide unit drives the inerter unit to convert axial movement into rotary movement so as to amplify the apparent mass, and meanwhile sliding friction is generated between the inerter unit and the energy consumption unit to dissipate energy. Through a cooperative mechanism of rigidity self-adaptive softening, inerter mass amplification and friction energy consumption, double-frequency vibration control in the elastic and plastic stages of the structure is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of engineering vibration reduction technology, and more specifically, to a stiffness softening inertial volume tuning vibration reduction device. Background Technology

[0002] Earthquakes, as highly destructive natural disasters, pose a serious threat to the structural integrity of buildings and the safety of life and property. Tuned mass dampers (TMDs), as a classic passive control device, are widely used in vibration control of high-rise buildings, long-span bridges, and tall structures due to their clear principles, lack of external power requirements, and significant wind resistance and vibration reduction effects. However, when applying TMD technology to seismic-excited structural vibration reduction, its performance faces several key challenges, making it difficult to meet actual engineering requirements: 1. Change in the frequency of the main structure: Under the action of seismic motion, the structure is prone to enter the nonlinear stage under strong seismic load (such as material yielding and nodal deformation), and its fundamental frequency will shift significantly. However, the stiffness of the traditional TMD is fixed, which cannot adapt to the stiffness degradation trend of the main structure from the elastic to the plastic stage. This causes the TMD design frequency to deviate from the actual fundamental frequency of the structure, resulting in a significant decrease in the vibration control effect, and may even exacerbate structural damage due to resonance.

[0003] 2. Space Constraints: To provide sufficient seismic control force, traditional TMDs typically require an additional physical mass accounting for 1%-5% or even higher of the main structure's mass, resulting in a large and heavy device. In buildings with limited space above the structure (such as multi-story buildings and low-rise structures) or structures sensitive to additional loads (such as lightweight steel structures and prefabricated structures), this not only makes implementation difficult but also increases the load-bearing pressure on the structural foundation, leading to high transportation and construction costs and extremely poor economic efficiency.

[0004] In summary, existing TMD vibration control technology cannot achieve significant vibration reduction or energy dissipation effects when structural stiffness softens. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a new type of vibration reduction device that is both stiffness-softening and lightweight. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides a stiffness softening inertial volume tuning damping device, which aims to solve the problem that existing damping devices cannot achieve good damping and energy dissipation effects when the structure enters the plastic state.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: A stiffness-softening inertia-capacity-tuned vibration damping device includes a mounting base plate, external connectors, an elastic unit, a guide unit, an inertia-capacity unit, and an energy-dissipating unit. The mounting base plate is used to mount the components. The external connectors are detachably connected to the structure to be damped to achieve fixed installation of the device. The elastic unit includes at least two elastic elements. The guide unit is linked with the elastic unit. The inertia-capacity unit is drivenly connected to the elastic unit. The energy-dissipating unit is adapted to the inertia-capacity unit to form a frictional fit. When the device displacement is less than a preset threshold, a single elastic element in the elastic unit works independently and provides restoring force; when the device displacement is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, at least two elastic elements in the elastic unit switch to a series working state to soften the device stiffness, the guide unit drives the inertial capacity unit to move to amplify the apparent mass of the device, and the friction unit generates sliding friction to dissipate energy.

[0007] Furthermore, at least one external connector is provided and is fixedly connected to the elastic unit. The external connector is provided with mounting holes and can be detachably installed at the target position of the structure to be damped through the mounting holes.

[0008] Furthermore, the elastic unit includes a first elastic element and a second elastic element. The preset threshold is achieved by a limiting element. When the device displacement is less than the preset threshold, only the first elastic element provides the restoring force independently. When the device displacement is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, the guide unit abuts against the limiting element, thereby driving the second elastic element to work in coordination with the first elastic element. The movement paths of the limiting element and the guide unit correspond.

[0009] Furthermore, the first elastic element is a compression spring, with an outer pad fixedly connected to one end of the compression spring. The outer pad is used to fix and install external connecting parts, and the other end of the compression spring is fixedly connected to the guide unit.

[0010] Furthermore, the second elastic element is a variable stiffness spring. One end of the variable stiffness spring is fixedly connected to the limiting element, and the other end is fixedly connected to an inner pad. The inner pad is connected to the inertial capacity unit for transmission.

[0011] Furthermore, the guiding unit includes a guiding component and a moving component that cooperate with each other. The moving component is linked with the elastic unit and a mass block is provided on the moving component. When the device displacement is less than a preset threshold, the moving component and the mass block together constitute the device tuning mass.

[0012] Furthermore, the guiding component adopts a guide rail, the moving component adopts a slider, the guide rail and the slider are installed through a guide groove, the mass block is fixedly connected to the slider, and the guide rail is installed on the mounting base plate.

[0013] Furthermore, the inertial capacity unit includes a screw drive assembly and a rotating mass assembly. The screw drive assembly is connected to the elastic unit via a transmission connection, and the rotating mass assembly is fixedly connected to the screw drive assembly and moves synchronously. The screw drive assembly converts the axial movement of the guide unit into the rotational movement of the rotating mass assembly to amplify the apparent mass.

[0014] Furthermore, the screw drive assembly includes a ball screw and a thrust bearing. The ball screw includes a screw, a nut, and balls. The balls are installed in conjunction with the screw and nut. The screw is connected to the elastic unit for transmission. The thrust bearing is arranged on both sides of the nut and fixedly connected to the driven member. The thrust bearing is installed in conjunction with the nut to assist the rotational motion. The rotating mass assembly is a combined disc, which is fixedly connected to the nut.

[0015] Furthermore, the energy-consuming unit includes a friction element and a connecting element. The friction element is fixedly connected to the driven element through the connecting element. The combined disc contacts the friction element through the friction groove, generating sliding friction force, thereby consuming energy.

[0016] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: 1. This invention achieves stiffness softening by switching the first elastic element and the second elastic element in the elastic unit in series. Its stiffness degradation trend is precisely matched with the stiffness change of the main structure after entering the plastic stage. It effectively solves the fundamental frequency mismatch problem caused by the fixed frequency in traditional TMD, and ensures that the device can maintain resonance with the main structure throughout the entire process of small earthquakes (structural elastic stage) and large earthquakes (structural plastic stage), so as to play a stable and efficient vibration reduction and control role.

[0017] 2. This invention utilizes the motion conversion mechanism of the inertial capacitance unit to transform the axial motion of the guide unit into the rotational motion of the combined disk. Through the inertial capacitance effect, the apparent mass of the device is significantly amplified, achieving vibration reduction performance equivalent to the large added mass of a traditional TMD with a relatively small physical mass. The device is compact and lightweight, effectively avoiding the stringent requirements of traditional TMDs on installation space and structural loads, reducing transportation and construction costs, and significantly improving the feasibility and economy of engineering implementation in space-constrained and load-sensitive structures.

[0018] 3. This invention does not require additional complex energy dissipation devices. It can efficiently dissipate seismic energy by combining the rotation of the disc with the sliding friction of the friction components. The energy dissipation mechanism is stable and unaffected by frequency matching, and can still maintain excellent energy dissipation efficiency under strong earthquake conditions.

[0019] 4. By employing a design that allows a single elastic element to operate independently during minor earthquakes and a dual-elastic element system to soften during major earthquakes, along with a synergistic mechanism of inertial mass amplification and frictional energy dissipation, dual-frequency vibration control of the structure's elastic and plastic stages is achieved. This not only effectively attenuates the structural vibration response under minor earthquakes but also significantly reduces the elastoplastic deformation of the structure under major earthquakes, substantially improving the seismic safety of the building structure across the entire earthquake magnitude range and providing dual protection for life and property. Attached Figure Description

[0020] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a stiffness softening inertia-capacity tuning damping device according to the present invention; Figure 2 For the present invention Figure 1 A structural diagram showing the hidden follower; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the guide unit in this invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the inertial capacity unit and the energy dissipation unit in this invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the inertial capacitive unit in this invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the energy-consuming unit in this invention.

[0021] In the diagram: 1-Mounting base plate; 2-External connector; 21-Mounting hole; 3-Compression spring; 4-Outer pad; 5-Limiting component; 6-Variable stiffness spring; 7-Inner pad; 8-Guide rail; 9-Slider; 10-Mass block; 11-Guide groove; 12-Ball screw; 13-Thrust bearing; 14-Screw; 15-Nut; 16-Driven component; 17-Friction component; 18-Connector; 19-Friction groove; 20-Combined disc. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The present application will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following specific embodiments are only used to further illustrate the present application and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present application. Those skilled in the art can make some non-essential improvements and adjustments to the present application based on the above application content.

[0023] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, this invention provides a stiffness-softening inertia-capacity-tuned vibration damping device, which includes a mounting base plate 1, an external connector 2, an elastic unit, a guide unit, an inertia-capacity unit, and an energy-dissipating unit. Each unit is assembled in a modular fashion to form a complete vibration damping system, which can be adapted to the seismic vibration damping requirements of various building structures.

[0024] The mounting base plate 1 is a rigid flat plate structure, which serves as the mounting base for the entire device and is used to support and fix components such as the guide unit and the driven component 16. There is at least one external connector 2, and the number can be increased or decreased according to the installation requirements. The external connector 2 is fixedly connected to the outer pad plate 4 in the elastic unit. The external connector 2 has a mounting hole 21, which can be detachably connected to the preset installation position of the structure to be damped by bolts, so as to realize the rapid fixing and subsequent maintenance of the device.

[0025] The elastic unit includes a first elastic element and a second elastic element to provide adaptive restoring force. The first elastic element is a compression spring 3, and the second elastic element is a variable stiffness spring 6. Switching between working states is achieved through a limiting element 5. One end of the compression spring 3 is fixedly connected to the outer pad 4, and the other end is fixedly connected to the mass block 10 in the guide unit to ensure stable axial force transmission. One end of the variable stiffness spring 6 is fixedly connected to the limiting element 5, and the other end is fixedly connected to the inner pad 7. The limiting element 5 is a metal baffle arranged along the movement path of the slider 9. (If the limiting element 5 is fixedly connected to the guide rail 8, the mass block 10 cannot push the limiting element 5 to move. How the compression of the variable stiffness spring 6 is driven needs to be confirmed by the inventor.) The guiding unit is used to achieve axial directional movement and includes a guiding component and a moving component. The guiding component is a guide rail 8, and the moving component is a slider 9. A mass block 10 is fixedly installed on the slider 9. The guide rail 8 is fixedly connected to the mounting base plate 1 by bolts. Guide grooves 11 are provided on both sides of the guide rail 8. The slider 9 slides with the guide rail through the guide grooves 11 to ensure that the slider 9 reciprocates along the axial direction of the guide rail 8. The mass block 10 is fixedly connected to the slider 9 by bolts. The two move synchronously and together constitute the tuning mass of the device when the device displacement is small.

[0026] The inertial capacity unit is used to amplify the apparent mass of the device, including a screw drive assembly and a rotating mass assembly. The screw drive assembly uses a ball screw 12 and a thrust bearing 13, while the rotating mass assembly uses a combined disc 20. The ball screw 12 consists of a screw 14, a nut 15, and balls. The balls are embedded in the helical grooves of the screw 14 and the nut 15, achieving efficient transmission through rolling friction. One side of the screw 14 is threadedly connected to the inner pad 7, ensuring that the axial movement of the inner pad 7 can synchronously drive the screw 14 to rotate. The two sides of the thrust bearing 13 are respectively fitted with the driven member 16 and the nut 15 to reduce the frictional resistance when the nut 15 rotates, assisting in smooth rotational movement. The combined disc 20 is a concave metal disc, which is fixedly connected to the nut 15 by bolts. The two rotate synchronously, and its concave structure is used to form a stable frictional fit with the energy-consuming unit.

[0027] The energy dissipation unit is used to dissipate seismic energy and includes a friction element 17 and a connecting element 18. The friction element 17 is made of a high wear-resistant friction material and is fixedly connected to the connecting element 18 by bolts. The connecting element 18 is a metal bracket that is fixedly installed on the driven element 16 by bolts and is symmetrically arranged on the upper and lower sides of the driven element 16. The friction element 17 is embedded in the concave friction groove 19 of the combined disk 20 and is in close contact with the inner wall of the combined disk 20 to generate sliding friction, thereby dissipating energy.

[0028] This device achieves full-process vibration reduction in both the elastic and plastic stages of the structure through a synergistic mechanism of adaptive stiffness switching, inertial mass amplification, and frictional energy dissipation. The specific working process is as follows.

[0029] I. Small displacement condition, i.e., when the device displacement is less than the preset threshold: When the ground vibration intensity is small and the device displacement does not reach the preset threshold set by the device, the slider 9 only moves axially along the guide rail 8. At this time, only the compression spring 3 works independently to provide the device with restoring force and prevent the slider 9 from moving excessively. Under this condition, the tuning mass of the device is composed of the slider 9 and the mass block 10. Since the input energy of the small vibration is low, the structural vibration can be effectively attenuated by reasonably designing the weight of the mass block 10, thus ensuring the safety of the structure in the elastic stage.

[0030] II. Large displacement condition, i.e., when the device displacement is greater than or equal to the preset threshold: When the ground vibration intensity is high and the device displacement reaches a preset threshold, the slider 9 abuts against the limiting member 5. As the displacement continues to increase, the slider 9 drives the variable stiffness spring 6 to deform axially through the limiting member 5. At this time, the compression spring 3 and the variable stiffness spring 6 switch to a series working state, jointly providing the restoring force, realizing the active softening of the overall stiffness of the device. Its stiffness degradation trend is precisely matched with the stiffness change of the main structure after entering the plastic stage, ensuring that the device frequency resonates with the fundamental frequency of the main structure. At the same time, the inner pad 7 moves axially with the deformation of the variable stiffness spring 6, driving the screw 14 to rotate through the threaded transmission. The screw 14 drives the nut 15 to rotate through the ball bearings. The thrust bearing 13 assists the nut 15 to rotate smoothly, and the combined disk 20, which is fixedly connected to the nut 15, rotates synchronously at high speed. During this process, the tuning mass of the device is composed of the rotational amplification mass of the slider 9, the mass block 10, the screw 14, the nut 15, and the combined disk 20. Through the inertial capacitance effect, the apparent mass of the device is significantly amplified, achieving strong vibration reduction with a small physical mass. In addition, when the combined disk 20 rotates, the inner wall of its concave friction groove 19 generates stable sliding friction with the friction component 17. Through friction, the mechanical energy generated by the earthquake is converted into heat energy and dissipated, rapidly attenuating the amplitude of structural vibration and preventing the structure from being damaged due to excessive deformation.

[0031] The combination of stiffness softening and inertial mass amplification mechanisms significantly enhances the damping performance of the device under structural plastic conditions. Furthermore, this design achieves a larger equivalent mass with a smaller physical mass through the inertial effect, effectively alleviating the problems of excessive mass burden and spatial constraints faced when installing a TMD in structures with limited space above the building or sensitive to additional loads, thus significantly improving the feasibility and economy of engineering implementation.

[0032] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of several implementations of the present invention, and their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed. However, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A stiffness-softening, inertial-capacitance-tuned vibration damping device, characterized in that: The device includes a mounting base plate, external connectors, an elastic unit, a guide unit, an inertial capacity unit, and an energy dissipation unit. The mounting base plate is used to mount the components. The external connectors are detachably connected to the structure to be damped, enabling the fixed installation of the device. The elastic unit includes at least two elastic elements. The guide unit is linked to the elastic unit. The inertial capacity unit is driven to the elastic unit. The energy dissipation unit is adapted to the inertial capacity unit to form a frictional fit. When the device displacement is less than a preset threshold, a single elastic element in the elastic unit works independently and provides restoring force; when the device displacement is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, at least two elastic elements in the elastic unit switch to a series working state to soften the device stiffness, the guiding unit drives the inertial capacity unit to move to amplify the apparent mass of the device, and the friction unit generates sliding friction to dissipate energy.

2. The stiffness-softening, inertia-capacitance-tuned vibration damping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least one external connector is provided and is fixedly connected to the elastic unit. The external connector is provided with mounting holes and can be detachably installed at the target position of the structure to be damped through the mounting holes.

3. The stiffness-softening, inertial-capacity-tuned vibration damping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic unit includes a first elastic element and a second elastic element. The preset threshold is achieved by a limiting element. When the device displacement is less than the preset threshold, only the first elastic element provides the restoring force independently. When the device displacement is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, the guide unit abuts against the limiting element, thereby driving the second elastic element to work in conjunction with the first elastic element. The movement path of the limiting element corresponds to that of the guide unit.

4. The stiffness-softening, inertial-capacity-tuned vibration damping device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first elastic element is a compression spring. One end of the compression spring is fixedly connected to an outer pad, which is used to fix the external connector. The other end of the compression spring is fixedly connected to the guide unit.

5. The stiffness-softening, inertia-capacitance-tuned vibration damping device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The second elastic element is a variable stiffness spring. One end of the variable stiffness spring is fixedly connected to the limiting element, and the other end is fixedly connected to an inner pad. The inner pad is connected to the inertial capacity unit via a transmission connection.

6. The stiffness-softening, inertia-capacitance-tuned vibration damping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guiding unit includes a guiding component and a moving component that cooperate with each other. The moving component is linked with the elastic unit. A mass block is provided on the moving component. When the device displacement is less than a preset threshold, the moving component and the mass block together constitute the device tuning mass.

7. The stiffness-softening, inertia-capacitance-tuned vibration damping device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The guiding component is a guide rail, the moving component is a slider, the guide rail and the slider are installed through a guide groove, the mass block is fixedly connected to the slider, and the guide rail is installed on the mounting base plate.

8. The stiffness-softening, inertia-capacitance-tuned vibration damping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inertial capacity unit includes a helical drive assembly and a rotating mass assembly. The helical drive assembly is connected to the elastic unit, and the rotating mass assembly is fixedly connected to the helical drive assembly and moves synchronously. The helical drive assembly converts the axial movement of the guide unit into the rotational movement of the rotating mass assembly to amplify the apparent mass.

9. A stiffness-softening, inertia-capacitance-tuned vibration damping device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The helical transmission assembly includes a ball screw and a thrust bearing. The ball screw includes a screw, a nut, and balls. The balls are installed in conjunction with the screw and the nut. The screw is connected to the elastic unit for transmission. The thrust bearing is arranged on both sides of the nut and fixedly connected to the driven member. The thrust bearing is installed in conjunction with the nut to assist rotational motion. The rotating mass assembly is a combined disc, which is fixedly connected to the nut.

10. A stiffness-softening, inertial-capacity-tuned vibration damping device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The energy-consuming unit includes a friction element and a connecting element. The friction element is fixedly connected to the driven element through the connecting element. The combined disc contacts the friction element through a friction groove, generating sliding friction and thus consuming energy.

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