SPACE SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT: A FAMILY OF SMART MAGNETIC TUNED-MASS DAMPERS

The goal of this effort is a family of adaptive passive damping elements that will improve performance, endurance and survivability of future advanced space and missile systems. The innovation is twofold: the damping elements will be advanced tuned-mass dampers (TMDs) that (1) use magnetically induced eddy currents as the dissipation mechanism and (2) have an adaptive frequency tuning scheme. As the most weight-effective means of increasing narrowband structural damping, TMDs will contribute significantly toward improved performance requirements: a robust magnetic damping mechanism will withstand high-G launch and environmental effects, including temperature extremes, and the capability for adaptive frequency tuning will extend the utility of TMDs to volatile dynamic environments. Magnetic TMDs will be developed with self-sensing, actuating spring elements to enable the devices to track and damp a structural mode(s) as it changes in frequency with environmental or mission conditions. These highly predictable, all-metal dampers will require no power during normal operation, will be unaffected by temperature variations, and will not age or outgas. The end product of this work will be a family of affordable, modular, smart damping elements which will enhance future spacecraft designs by attacking a broad range of vibration problems.