Suppression of vibration localization in non-axisymmetric periodic structures

In this paper, mistuned non-axisymmetric periodic structures are considered. In such a structure, vibration localization, which results in large vibrations in some components of the structure, can occur. Such a behavior is due to mistunings in the structure components, small damping, and weak coupling between components. The efficacy of a passive technique (previously proposed by the author for axisymmetric structures) in suppressing vibration localization in mistuned non-axisymmetric periodic structures is examined. The technique is based on adding small components between components of structures. It is first shown numerically that the added components suppress vibration localization in mistuned structures. Then, this conclusion is rigorously proved by using the singular perturbation method. Application of the technique studied in the paper to comb drives of micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) is given.