Optimization of a pseudoelastic absorber for vibration mitigation

Damic vibration absorbers (DVAs) have received special attention in recent years due to their capability to reduce structural vibrations of a primary structure. In this work, a DVA of the Tuned Mass Damper type based on a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) element with pseudoelastic behavior is considered. Owing to their rich thermomechanical response, SMAs can exhibit hysteresis loops with rather different features in terms of overall energy dissipation and of pseudoelastic stiffness. As a first step towards the comprehensive evaluation of the performances of such a device, the optimization of a TMD based on SMA devices with different features is studied. Numerical simulations show that the size and the shape of the pseudoelastic loops can influence in a significant way the performances of the DVA.