The mass moves in the radius direction (up and down) and it induces Coriolis force in the circumference direction to prevent the swing of gondola. If the natural frequency of the absorber is tuned to twice that of the gondola, the absorber moves spontaneously with a large amplitude due the resonance. This absorber is more effective when it is located at lower positions. The experiment with a small model and an actual gondola for 10 passengers were carried out and the results agreed well with the theoretical predictions. | Vietnam Journal of Mechanics, VAST, Vol. 30, No. 4 (2008), pp. 291 – 298 Special Issue of the 30th Anniversary DYNAMIC ABSORBER FOR ROPEWAY GONDOLA USING CORIOLIS FORCE Hiroshi Matsuhisa1 and Masashi Yasuda2 1 Kyoto University, Japan 2 Tokkyokiki Corp, Japan Abstract. Wind-induced swinging of ropeway gondola can be reduced using dynamic absorbers. To maximize the performance of conventional dynamic absorbers, their location should be as high as possible. However, absorbers can not be installed at high positions due to interference issues with structures such as towers and stations. To address this problem, a new type of dynamic absorber that moves vertically is proposed. This absorber is composed of a mass supported by a spring. The mass moves in the radius direction (up and down) and it induces Coriolis force in the circumference direction to prevent the swing of gondola. If the natural frequency of the absorber is tuned to twice that of the gondola, the absorber moves spontaneously with a large amplitude due the resonance. This absorber is more effective when it is located at lower positions. The experiment with a small model and an actual gondola for 10 passengers were carried out and the results agreed well with the theoretical predictions. 1. INTRODUCTION Wind loading often induces swinging of cable suspension carriers such as gondolas and chair lifts. In general, the operation of gondola is suspended for the wind speeds greater than 15m/s. There are two means for reducing swing of cable suspension carrier, dynamic absorbers and gyrostabilizers. Because the structure of the gyrostabilizers is complicated and requires a power supply, it is not suitable for cable suspension carriers. Alternatively, passive dynamic absorbers do not have such problems. Since their effectiveness is generally proportional to the square of the vibration amplitude, many researchers have tried to install dynamic absorbers at the bottom of carriers. In these setups, the absorbers .
