Dynamic Analysis of Quasi-Zero Stiffness Pneumatic Vibration Isolator

This paper focuses on analyzing the dynamic response of an innovated quasi-zero stiffness pneumatic vibration isolator (QZSPVI) using two mechanisms, including wedge and semicircle cam. Different from other studies relating quasi-zero stiffness isolation system, the pneumatic cylinder in this paper works as an air spring in order to easily adjust the dynamic stiffness of the proposed system according to the change of the isolated load through regulating the pressure. Firstly, the dynamic stiffness of the QZSPVI will be analyzed. Then, the condition for which the minimum dynamic stiffness is quasi-zero around the equilibrium position is also determined. The fundamental resonance response of the QZSPVI subjected to the externally harmonic force is analyzed through multi-scale method and the numerical simulations are verified. Secondly, due to exiting relative sliding frictional phenomenon between the cylinder and piston, instead of an experiment, another key content of this work is to identify the friction force model of the cylinder through virtual prototyping model. From this identified result, the complex dynamic response of the QZSPVI and coexistence of multiple solutions will be discovered by realizing the direct integration of the original dynamic equation through using the 5th-order Runge–Kutta algorithm. The analysis and simulation results clearly show the advantages of the proposed model against the equivalent pneumatic vibration isolator (EPVI), which only employs the wedge mechanism. This research will offer a useful insight into design and QZSPVI in practice.