Abstract: This paper is focusing on the difference between the circumstances of the particle dampers application in mechanical，astronautics and civil engineering seismic controls． A theoretical analysis was conducted aiming at the seismic control of the particle dampers with low frequency and amplitude． The analysis indicated that the accumulation was one of the key factors to the application of the particle dampers in civil engineering． Thus the starting conditions for the particle oscillation under different accumulating states were derived． Based on the Hertz contact theory and the Coulomb law of friction，a particle-SDOF oscillating system was established with MATLAB， and the starting conditions for the particle oscillation and the damping performance were also analyzed．