Influence of inerter on natural frequencies of vibration systems

This paper investigates the influence of inerter on the natural frequencies of vibration systems. First of all, the natural frequencies of a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system and a two-degree-of-freedom (TDOF) system are derived algebraically and the fact that the inerter can reduce the natural frequencies of these systems is demonstrated. Then, to further investigate the influence of inerter in a general vibration system, a multi-degree-of-freedom system (MDOF) is considered. Sensitivity analysis is performed on the natural frequencies and mode shapes to demonstrate that the natural frequencies of the MDOF system can always be reduced by increasing the inertance of any inerter. The condition for a general MDOF system of which the natural frequencies can be reduced by an inerter is also derived. Finally, the influence of the inerter position on the natural frequencies is investigated and the efficiency of inerter in reducing the largest natural frequencies is verified by simulating a six-degree-of-freedom system, where a reduction of more than 47 percent is obtained by employing only five inerters. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.