ACTIVE DAMPING DEVICES PORTFOLIO

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ACTIVE DAMPING DEVICE PRINCIPLE

Active dampers are based on the principle that accelerating a suspended mass results in a reaction force
on the supporting structure. An embedded sensor monitors the supporting structure vibration. The sensor
readings are sent to an external feedback controller that drives the internal electromagnetic actuator of
the active damping device.

ADVANTAGES
Non intrusive Control Robustness
Generating damping within a structure or machine Thanks to the selected configuration of collocated
with ADDs is a non-intrusive process. No structural sensor and actuator pair(s), it can be demonstrated
modification is needed. The ADD is just fixed on the that a more robust and stable control scheme can be
apparatus and adds damping. If the control is turned achieved, and hence that stability is less of an issue.
off, the structure just behaves like originally. Once the
control is turned on again, the structural behaviour
remains the same, but resonances are damped.

Additive Process Low previous knowlegde of the

Damping with ADDs is an additive process. In other
words, the more ADDs you attach to the structure
or machine, the more damping you get.
structure is required
As the selected closed-loop damping strategy with
DVF is quite universal, the ADD can be applied with
no or no deep previous knowledge of the structural
behavior of the structure or machine it is attached
to. No in-depth preliminary modeling or structural
analysis is required before being able to generate
damping with ADDs.
Active Damping Devices Portfolio_EN-Rev1p1
 No external mechanical connections Wide operating bandwidth
Being based on an inertial actuator there is no need •• The ADD damps all the modes of the structure it
for and external mechanical link like it would be the is attached to and that are “seen” by the collocat-
case with classical dampers as illustrated in Figure 1. ed sensor.
Unlike classical dampers that need a physical reference •• Unlike “Tuned Mass Dampers” that address one
anchor, the ADD has a virtual reference point; it is mode only, the ADD can damp several modes
“hooked to the sky”. within its operating bandwidth (typically between
Hence, ADDs can be installed where structural parts 25 and 2000Hz).
connected to the ground are not present or not
•• This allows maintaining efficiency even when
practicable, or even on moving parts.
there is structural variability - i.e. the location(s)
of the structure mode(s) change(s) for some
reasons – or whenever an external perturbation
source to the structure is varying (e.g. motor with
a range of rotating speeds generating a changing
vibration spectrum)

Figure 1: Active Damping with an Inertial Actuator

Compactness
The performances of the ADD are not driven by
the mass ratio between the structure and the ac-
tuator such as with a tuned mass damper. The size
of the actuator depends only on the required con-
trol force; i.e. the amount of vibration energy to be
extracted from the structure. Impressive damping
ratio has been achieved on a 400kg structure with
a 20gr actuator.

ACTIVE DAMPING DEVICES IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP

The usual ADD implementation roadmap is a 3-step process:
1. Computation based on an existing FEM model of the structure and/or on the results from a quick
vibration response test allows evaluating the required force to implement in the actuator
2. A test involving existing actuators generating the computed force is performed to check performance
and improvement of customers’ machine or process
3. If needed – custom actuators and/or controllers are designed to fit customers’ machine or process.

EXAMPLES OF DEVICES

Active Damping Devices Portfolio_EN-Rev1p1

ENGINEERING SERVICES
•• Vibration Problem analysis.
•• Active damping performance assessment.
•• Custom actuators and controllers design for per-
fect integration into customers’ machine or pro-
cess (mechanical layout and interfaces, environ-
ment…).

EXAMPLES OF EXISTING APPLICATION

Here are some existing applications. Unfortunately, we might not give details as most of these are protected
by non-disclosure agreements:
•• Pointing accuracy improvement for systems with vibrating base
•• Moving camera and optics stabilization time improvement by structural damping
•• Noise emission reduction of structural born noise
•• Chatter avoidance in machine tools (damping the machine structure prevents the chatter from appear-
ing).

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B-5380 Fernelmont | Belgium info@micromega-dynamics.com
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