Evaluation of Multi-Compartment Particle Dampers for the Attenuation of Dynamic Vibrations

An experimental study was performed examining the effectiveness of a multi-compartment damper in attenuating the response of structures under random and earthquake excitations. The damper consisted of four compartments of unequal size; it was mounted on a small one-story steel structure. The same number of steel spherical particles were placed inside each compartment, resulting in filling area ratios (the total area of the squares around the projected particles divided by the area of the compartment) from 40% to 70%. The damper was effective in reducing the response displacement and acceleration of the structure considerably. The use of different filling area ratios enabled the damper to be effective for a wide range of excitation levels.