In Search of the Jerk Element

Mechanical components, such as springs, dampers and mass, alter and influence an engineered system’s motion based upon a system’s position, velocity and acceleration, respectively. This paper aims to discover and develop another element (dubbed the damper) which provides a force proportional to a system’s jerk (i.e., the derivative of acceleration) to better engineer a system’s response. By utilizing the known applications of jerk in motion planning and control theory, existing possible physical implementations and uses of jerk and the jerk element are discussed in relation to its influence on the system’s response, specifically vibration. Using a Buckingham Pi approach, the theoretical background of the jerk element is presented and possible physical parameters are combined to show how the jerk element could be created from common elements and parameters. The most promising approach of varying the magnetic field of existing magneto-rheological dampers is developed to give an example of the jerk element along with the difficulties and concerns in developing the jerk element. This paper serves less of a purpose towards answering all questions of the jerk element, but rather focuses more on posing the appropriate questions which sets the stage for an easily realizable future jerk element which can improve system performance.