Among many rotating machinery vibration sources, there is one due to resonance, when the machine operation frequency crosses the natural frequency region. This study proposes a smart bearing that employs shape memory alloy NiTi helical springs for vibration-level reduction. This smart bearing is capable of dynamically changing its stiffness during machine acceleration or deceleration, keeping its natural frequency far from resonance. Activated by Joule effect and cooled by forced air convection, the prototype installed in horizontal rotating machinery reaches reduction of vibration amplitude of about 63% (root mean square) and 73% (Peak) at critical speed, with response time between 12–15 s. Compared with the results of the reference articles, satisfactory amplitude reduction and better response time were observed.

One of the main applications of shape memory alloy (SMA) concerns vibration control, especially superelastic SMA (SMA-SE), which presents a significant stress hysteresis and can work as a damper while adding minimal weight to the structure. In helicopters, vibration is a phenomenon inherent to their operation, and although cannot be eliminated, must be minimized to acceptable levels of safety and comfort. In this context, this paper aims to present the design, testing, and dynamic behavior of a new device entitled smart pitch link, a device with superelastic material for passive vibration control. The paper depicts the design process, assembly, and device testing using a whirl tower that simulates a helicopter rotor in hover. The approach adopts a comparative analysis of the dynamic response on the prototype in reference condition, with a stiff pitch link, with the modified prototype, and with the superelastic pitch link installation. In addition, beyond hover tests, cyclic commands and an asymmetrical lateral gust were employed to observe the output response of the device under transient loadings. Contrary to the literature data about the low time response of SMA, the device presents satisfactory time response and attenuation in frequencies close to main rotor frequencies, with signal attenuations between 2 to 4 dB without any external energy consumption, which, in a comparative analysis, may exceed more than 50% of vibrational amplitude attenuation.

In the forward flight, wind loads affect the helicopters and cause vibration. This paper analyzes the behavior of a helicopter prototype composed by two blades when subjected to a front wind load, similar to the forwarding flight condition. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) processes the experimental data in order to identify the pattern of its dynamic behavior. The tests led to Vibration analysis for different wind speeds. Also, the data indicates that vibration amplitude increases when the blades are subjected to the fundamental frequency and its first harmonic on tests conducted without rotor plane tilt (hover flight). On the other hand, the second test performs a 5-degree tilt on the rotor disc. In this test, the vibration amplitude decreased in the fundamental frequency, and the amplitude related to the first harmonic increased. The ANN achieved 100% efficiency in recognizing the flight conditions of the prototype.

This work presents an experimental study related to the mechanical performance of a special design spring fabricated with a superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA-SE). For the experimental testing, the spring was coupled in a rotor machine, aiming to attenuate the mechanical vibration when the system went through a natural frequency without any external power source. It was verified that the reduction in instabilities stemmed from the better distribution of vibration force in the proposed device, as well as the damping capacity of the spring material. These findings showed that the application of the M-Shape device of SMA-SE for three different cases could reduce vibration up to 23 dB when compared to the situations without, and with, 1.5 mm of preload. The M-Shape device was shown to be efficient in reducing the mechanical vibration in a rotor system. This was due to the damping capacity of the SMA-SE material, and because the application did not require any external source of energy to generate phase transformation.