This study presents the feasibility of a new variable stiffness and damping isolator (VSDI) in an integrated vibratory system. The integrated system comprised of two VSDIs, a connecting plate and a mass. The proposed VSDI consists of a traditional steel-rubber vibration absorber, as the passive element, and a magneto-rheological elastomer (MRE), with a controllable (or variable) stiffness and damping, as the semi-active element. MREs' stiffness and damping properties can be altered by a magnetic field. Dynamic testing on this integrated system has been performed to investigate the effectiveness of the VSDIs for vibration control. Experimental results show significant shift in natural frequency, when activating the VSDIs. Transmissibility and natural frequency of the integrated system are obtained from properties of single device. The experimental and predicted results show good agreement between the values of the natural frequency of the system at both off and on states. However, system damping predictions are different from experimental results. This might be due to unforeseen effects of pre-stressed MREs and nonlinear material properties.

Date Published: 27 April 2011
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 7977, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2011, 79770Z (27 April 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.881871

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7977:
Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2011
Mehrdad N. Ghasemi-Nejhad, Editor(s)