The Effects of Gravity on the Response of Centrifugal Pendulum Vibration Absorbers
Abstract This paper describes the effects of gravity on the response of systems of identical, cyclically arranged, centrifugal pendulum vibration absorbers (CPVAs). CPVAs are passive devices composed of movable masses suspended on a rotor, suspended such that they reduce torsional vibrations at a given engine order. These absorbers are becoming prevalent in automotive powertrain components in order to expand fuel-efficient engine operating conditions. Gravitational effects acting on the absorbers can be important for a horizontal rotor/CPVA system spinning at relatively low rotation speeds, for example, during engine idle conditions. The main goal of this investigation is to predict the response of a CPVA/rotor system in the presence of gravity. A linearized model which includes the effects of gravity and an order n torque acting on the rotor is analyzed by exploiting the cyclic symmetry of the system. The results show that the N absorbers respond in one or more groups, where the absorbers in each group respond with identical waveforms but shifted phases. The number of groups depends on the engine order n and the ratio Nn. It is shown that there are special resonant effects if the engine order is n = 1 or n = 2, the latter of which is particularly important in applications. In addition, it is shown that for N > 1 the rotor response is not affected by gravity, due to the symmetry of the gravity effects. The analytical predictions are verified by direct simulations of the equations of motion.