This paper discusses a simple way to suppress the parametrically excited lateral vibration of a mass-loaded string. Supposing that the mass at the lower end of the string is subjected to a vertical harmonic excitation and neglecting the higher order vibration modes, the equation of motion for the mass-loaded string can be represented by a Mathieus equation with cubic nonlinearity. According to the theory of the Mathieus equation, in the mass-loaded string system, when the vertical vibration frequency of the mass approaches twice the natural frequency of the string lateral vibration, once the vertical vibration amplitude of the mass exceeds a critical value, the parametric resonance will occur in the string. To avoid the parametric resonance, a vibration absorber, composed of a thin beam and two mass blocks attached at both sides of the beam symmetrically, is proposed to install with the mass to reduce its vertical vibration, and ultimately suppress the lateral vibration of the string. Such a suppression strategy is finally validated by experiments.
