Nonsmooth Chebyshev H-infinity optimization of sparse inerter-dashpot absorber networks for broadband plate vibration suppression
Abstract
This paper develops a mathematical optimization framework for broadband vibration attenuation of a simply supported thin plate using a sparse network of passive inerter-dashpot dynamic absorbers. The four attachment locations are fixed a priori away from nodal lines of the retained low-order modes; the optimizer allocates a total absorber mass limited to 4.2% of the plate mass and constrains tuning frequency to 75–580 Hz, damping ratio to 0.035–0.290, and inertance ratio to 0.05–4.50 over the selected 45–650 Hz numerical band. A modal Kirchhoff–Love model is condensed with frequency-dependent absorber impedances, and a nonsmooth Chebyshev H-infinity epigraph objective is treated by log-sum-exp smoothing, differential-evolution exploration, and projected local polishing. For the ten-mode benchmark, the robust design reduces nominal peak mobility from 91.889 dB to 85.096 dB: its 6.793 dB reduction exceeds modal tuning by 0.468 dB and the uniform-inerter layout by 1.604 dB. Across fifty material-and-damping perturbation scenarios, its 95th-percentile peak is 1.757 dB below modal tuning, indicating a practically relevant upper-tail benefit, although experimental validation remains necessary. Because the tenth retained plate mode is 385.356 Hz, results above that frequency are reported as exploratory pending a 15–20-mode convergence study.
Copyright (c) 2026 Yogeesh Nijalingappa, Asokan Vasudevan, Rashed Abu Hammour, P. William, Tejas Bhushan N. B, Suleiman Ibrahim Mohammad, Torki M. Al-Fawwaz

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
[1]Smith MC. Synthesis of mechanical networks: The inerter. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2002; 47(10): 1648–1662. doi: 10.1109/TAC.2002.803532
[2]Lazar IF, Neild SA, Wagg DJ. Using an inerter-based device for structural vibration suppression. Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics. 2014; 43(8): 1129–1147. doi: 10.1002/eqe.2390
[3]Zuo L, Nayfeh SA. Optimization of the individual stiffness and damping parameters in multiple-tuned-mass-damper systems. Journal of Vibration and Acoustics. 2005; 127(1): 77–83. doi: 10.1115/1.1855929
[4]Warburton GB. Optimum absorber parameters for various combinations of response and excitation parameters. Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics. 1982; 10(3): 381–401. doi: 10.1002/eqe.4290100304
[5]Nishihara O, Matsuhisa H. Design of a dynamic vibration absorber for minimization of maximum amplitude magnification factor. Transactions of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers Series C. 1997; 63(614): 3438–3445. doi: 10.1299/kikaic.63.3438 (in Japanese)
[6]Blevins RD. Natural frequency of plates and shells. In: Formulas for Dynamics, Acoustics and Vibration. Wiley; 2015. doi: 10.1002/9781119038122.ch5
[7]Boyd S, Vandenberghe L. Convex Optimization. Cambridge University Press; 2004. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511804441
[8]Ben-Tal A, Nemirovski A. Robust convex optimization. Mathematics of Operations Research. 1998; 23(4): 769–805. doi: 10.1287/moor.23.4.769
[9]Bertsimas D, Sim M. The price of robustness. Operations Research. 2004; 52(1): 35–53. doi: 10.1287/opre.1030.0065
[10]Apkarian P, Noll D. Nonsmooth H-infinity synthesis. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 2006; 51(1): 71–86. doi: 10.1109/TAC.2005.860290
[11]Burke JV, Lewis AS, Overton ML. A robust gradient sampling algorithm for nonsmooth, nonconvex optimization. SIAM Journal on Optimization. 2005; 15(3): 751–779. doi: 10.1137/030601296
[12]Storn R, Price K. Differential evolution: A simple and efficient heuristic for global optimization over continuous spaces. Journal of Global Optimization. 1997; 11: 341–359. doi: 10.1023/A:1008202821328
[13]Rockafellar RT, Wets RJB. Variational Analysis. Springer; 2009. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-02431-3
[14]Bonnans JF, Shapiro A. Perturbation Analysis of Optimization Problems. Springer; 2000. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4612-1394-9
[15]Shor NZ. Minimization Methods for Non-Differentiable Functions. Springer; 1985. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-82118-9
[16]Raze G, Kerschen G. H∞ optimization of multiple tuned mass dampers for multimodal vibration control. Computers & Structures. 2021; 251: 106485. doi: 10.1016/j.compstruc.2021.106485
[17]Ma R, Bi K, Hao H. Inerter-based structural vibration control: A state-of-the-art review. Engineering Structures. 2021; 243: 112655. doi: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2021.112655
[18]Barredo E, Rojas GL, Mayén J, et al. Innovative negative-stiffness inerter-based mechanical networks. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences. 2021; 205: 106597. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2021.106597
[19]Zhang L, Xue S, Zhang R, et al. A novel crank inerter with simple realization: Constitutive model, experimental investigation and effectiveness assessment. Engineering Structures. 2022; 262: 114308. doi: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.114308
[20]Cao Y, Li Z, Dou J, et al. An inerter nonlinear energy sink for torsional vibration suppression of the rotor system. Journal of Sound and Vibration. 2022; 537: 117184. doi: 10.1016/j.jsv.2022.117184
[21]Alotta G, Biondo C, Giaralis A, et al. Seismic protection of land-based wind turbine towers using the tuned inerter damper. Structures. 2023; 51: 640–656. doi: 10.1016/j.istruc.2023.03.004
[22]Barredo E, Zhao Z, Mazón-Valadez C, et al. A grounded inerter-based oscillating TMD for suppressing harmonic and random vibrations. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences. 2023; 254: 108438. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2023.108438
[23]Rajana K, Wang Z, Giaralis A. Optimal design and assessment of tuned mass damper inerter with nonlinear viscous damper in seismically excited multi-storey buildings. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering. 2023; 21: 1509–1539. doi: 10.1007/s10518-022-01609-3
[24]Cao HQ, Tran NA. Multi-objective optimal design of double tuned mass dampers for structural vibration control. Archive of Applied Mechanics. 2023; 93: 2129–2144. doi: 10.1007/s00419-023-02376-6
[25]Li J, Gao T, Zhu S, et al. H∞ optimization of a novel Maxwell dynamic vibration absorber with lever, inerter, and grounded stiffness. Applied Sciences. 2023; 13(6): 3697. doi: 10.3390/app13063697
[26]Chillemi M, Furtmüller T, Adam C, et al. Fluid inerter-based vibration control of multi-modal structures subjected to vertical vibration. Engineering Structures. 2024; 307: 117938. doi: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2024.117938
[27]Garrido H, Domizio M, Curadelli O, et al. Inerter-based Building Mass Damper: Optimization and experimental study. Engineering Structures. 2024; 301: 117277. doi: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2023.117277
[28]Li Y, Zhang Q, Xu Y, et al. Performance evaluation of inerter-based dynamic vibration absorbers for wind-induced vibration control of a desulfurization tower. Buildings. 2024; 14(1): 150. doi: 10.3390/buildings14010150
[29]Wu L, Wang K. Optimization design and stability analysis for a new class of inerter-based dynamic vibration absorbers with a spring of negative stiffness. Journal of Vibration and Control. 2024; 30(3–4): 822–836. doi: 10.1177/10775463231151724
[30]Zhu YN, Guo XY, Wang Q, et al. A lightweight tuned particle damper for low-frequency vibration attenuation. Journal of Sound and Vibration. 2024; 583: 118440. doi: 10.1016/j.jsv.2024.118440




