Modeling and Analyzing New External Periodic Supports for Vibration Control over a Wide Frequency Range Starting from Zero Frequency

In this research, a new type of external periodic supports is proposed and analyzed for vibration control in the main structure. These supports are connected beams with different lengths and boundary conditions periodically attached to the main structure. The Bloch theory combined with the generalized differential quadrature rule (GDQR) method is implemented to obtain the vibration band gaps. The impacts of the supports geometry on the first three bands are studied. Results indicate that the starting frequency of first band is zero for all supports geometries. Results also indicate that there are specific supports geometries in which the first and second bands or all three bands are attached to each other. Forced vibration responses obtained via ANSYS show that strong vibration attenuation occurs over the band gaps. All these results indicate that these new supports can be designed to strongly absorb the vibration waves in the main structure over a very wide frequency interval starting from zero frequency. The proposed periodic supports are suggested to be used for vibration control in the structures such as fluid-conveying pipes in practical applications. The forced responses implemented for verification of the GDQR indicates that vibration of the structures made of connected elements can be analyzed accurately and robustly using the GDQR.