Mitigation of Vortex-Induced Vibration using the Ball Vibration Absorber

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the ball vibration absorber (BVA) to mitigate the vortex-induced vibration of a structure with elastic support. A phenomenological model consisting of three mutually coupled second-order nonlinear ODEs is developed to represent the primary structure, the BVA and the wake. Using the Harmonic Balance Method and pseudo-arc length continuation, the behaviour of the system is thoroughly analysed, revealing regions of multiple stable and unstable solutions, jump phenomena, and both stationary and non-stationary responses. Key design and coupling parameters are explored, and it is shown that the BVA effectively attenuates structural vibration, especially at low to moderate amplitudes, where the lockin regime is split into two distinct resonant zones with reduced vibration. In these scenarios, it presents a practical, low-maintenance alternative to more complex solutions such as nonlinear energy sinks.