Novel non-contact passive damping of structures: An experimental investigation using electromagnetic concepts

Abstract An experimental investigation has been carried out into the use of a non-contact mechanism to absorb or dissipate energy from a vibrating structure via electromagnetic effects. This paper describes a novel concept whereby the elastic paramters of a ferromagnetic mass within the immediate neighbourhood of a spatially varying magnetic field can be tuned to act as an elastic vibration absorber; if this ferromagnetic mass is sufficiently damped, it can also dissipate energy. The present study highlights some promising empirical observations together with some unusual phenomena arising from the magneto-structural interaction. Structures that are sensitive to modification from conventional damping treatment could benefit from this type of novel non-contact damping technique.