Vibration suppression and energy absorption of plates in subsonic airflow using an energy harvester enhanced nonlinear energy sink

In this paper, a nonlinear energy sink (NES) and a giant magnetostrictive-piezoelectric (GMP) energy harvester (NES-GMP) are investigated to suppress the nonlinear aeroelastic responses and to absorb the mechanical energy of an embedded plate interacting with external subsonic airflow. The analytical model of the embedded plate attaching the NES-GMP is established by using the Hamilton's principle based on the Kirchhoff plate theory and incompressible subsonic aerodynamic model. The natural frequencies of the plate with the NES-GMP and with the NES are analyzed by solving the generalized eigenvalue problems. The global amplitude-frequency responses of the pure plate, the plate with NES, and the plate with NES-GMP are compared to show the vibration suppression effects of the proposed method. Based on the energy analysis, the energy transfer mechanisms of the plate with the NES-GMP are studied. The results reveal that the input energy of the NES-GMP converts into the strain energy by the Terfenol-D layer and then transforms into the electric energy by the piezoelectric layer. Furthermore, numerical simulations also indicate that the maximum harvested energy is obtained when the airflow velocity approaches the critical divergence flow velocity of the plate, and the most effective harvesting installation position is in a specific annular region near the edge of the plate.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the use of a nonlinear energy sink and a giant magnetostrictive-piezoelectric energy harvester to suppress the nonlinear aeroelastic responses of an embedded plate and absorb mechanical energy from external subsonic airflow. The analytical model of the plate with the energy harvester is established and the natural frequencies are analyzed. The results show the vibration suppression effects of the proposed method and study the energy transfer mechanisms.