Vibro-impact attachments as shock absorbers

The use of vibro-impact (VI) attachments as shock absorbers is studied. By considering different configurations of primary linear oscillators with VI attachments, the capacity of these attachments to passively absorb and dissipate significant portions of shock energy applied to the primary systems is investigated. Parametric studies are performed to determine the dependence of energy dissipation by the VI attachment in terms of its parameters. Moreover, non-linear shock spectra are used to demonstrate that appropriately designed VI attachments can significantly reduce the maximum levels of vibration of primary systems over wide frequency ranges. This is in contrast to the classical linear vibration absorber, whose action is narrowband. In addition, it is shown that VI attachments can significantly reduce or even completely eliminate resonances appearing in the linear shock spectra, thus providing strong, robust, and broadband shock protection to the primary structures to which they are attached.