Particle dampers show a huge potential to efficiently damp lightweight structures. However, they suffer from their nonlinear characteristics and the multitude of influence parameters. For horizontal vibrations of low frequency, recently, the rolling attribute of spheres has been used to obtain high energy dissipation rates in driven particle containers. As long as the particle container's acceleration amplitude stays below the gravitational acceleration, this rolling effect of spheres can be used. Hereby, the estimation of the damper's energy dissipation is accurately possible using analytical formulas.
In this paper, a design guideline for a systematic damper design for an underlying structure of low first eigenfrequency under free vibration is presented. To develop this guideline, the analytical expression of the rolling effect of spheres is analyzed in detail. The particle damper is separated into multiple layers with different lengths. Hence, a high damping ratio over a large vibration amplitude range can be obtained. For experimental validation purposes, a simple beam-like structure is utilized. A good agreement between expected and experimental obtained vibration response is achieved for the designed particle dampers.