Comparison of the dynamic performance of nonlinear one and two degree-of-freedom vibration isolators with quasi-zero stiffness

Nonlinear stiffness isolation mounts, which offer a high static stiffness alongside a low dynamic stiffness or even quasi-zero-stiffness (QZS) over a displacement range have been proposed. These vibration isolators offer a higher isolation frequency band of low transmissibility than conventional linear devices. Here, three kinds of nonlinear two degree-of-freedom (DOF) vibration isolators with QZS characteristic are analysed in order to further improve the isolation performance. The dynamic response is obtained using the Harmonic Balance Method (HBM) and the peak dynamic displacement is obtained using backbone curve analysis and energy balancing method. The optimum isolation performance of the nonlinear 2DOF vibration isolators are evaluated for four performance indexes and compared with three baseline vibration isolators. These are a linear and a QZS 1DOF vibration isolator as well as a linear 2DOF vibration isolator. To ensure a fair comparison, the static displacement of each vibration isolator is kept constant. The
comparison demonstrates that a nonlinear 2DOF vibration isolator can be tuned to achieve a better isolation performance in the higher isolation frequency band than the baseline vibration isolators, while retaining a moderate peak dynamic displacement and peak transmissibility. In addition, the best vibration isolator is identified for each of the four performance indexes.