Reliability analysis of the hysteretic nonlinear energy sink in shock mitigation considering uncertainties

The reliability of the hysteretic nonlinear energy sink in shock mitigation is investigated herein. The hysteretic nonlinear energy sink is a passive vibration control device which is coupled to a primary linear oscillator. Apart from its small mass and a nonlinear elastic spring of the Duffing oscillator, it also comprises a purely hysteretic and a linear elastic spring of potentially negative stiffness. The Bouc–Wen model is used to describe the force produced by both the purely hysteretic and linear elastic springs. The hysteretic nonlinear energy sink protects the primary system through the energy pumping mechanism which transfers energy from the primary system and dissipates it in the hysteretic nonlinear energy sink. Three nonlinear equations of motion describe the resulting two-degree-of-freedom system response. The parameters of the system to be considered as uncertain are the natural frequency of the primary system and the hysteretic nonlinear energy sink linear elastic spring, which follow a normal distribution. A reliability analysis is then performed to evaluate the robustness of the coupled system in the presence of uncertainty. Specifically, the reliability index is calculated based on first passage probabilities of distinct dissipation energy level crossings using the Monte Carlo method. Several examples are examined considering various levels of initial input energy, and useful conclusions are drawn concerning the influence of uncertainty in the system robustness.