An elastic vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink for piezo-driven nanopositioning stages

Considering the limited modal damping performance and reduced robustness of conventional linear dampers, such as multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMDs) employed in piezo-driven nanopositioning stages, this paper proposes a lightweight elastic vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink (EVI). The dynamic model of EVI is established, and its modal damping enhancement mechanism is analyzed using the Runge-Kutta method. A comprehensive numerical simulation is conducted to compare the performance of EVI with that of an equivalent tuned mass damper (ETMD). Furthermore, experimental investigations are performed by integrating the EVI into piezo-driven nanopositioning stages. Both numerical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that the EVI can effectively enhance modal damping and rapidly dissipate vibration energy. Notable improvements include a 72.87% reduction in the resonant peak of the amplitude–frequency response and a 68.72% decrease in square-wave response time compared to the ETMD under EVI conditions. These findings provide a pioneering perspective for improving the control bandwidth of piezo-driven nanopositioning stages.