Improved Feasible Load Range and Its Effect on the Frequency Response of Origami-Inspired Vibration Isolators With Quasi-Zero-Stiffness Characteristics¹

We describe herein a method for extending the load range of a vibration isolator using a foldable cylinder consisting of a torsional buckling pattern and evaluate the vibration isolating performance through excitation experiments. A previous study determined that the foldable cylinder is bistable and acts as a vibration isolator with nonlinear characteristics in a displacement region, where the spring stiffness is zero. Its spring characteristics and vibration isolating performance were clarified by numerical analysis and excitation experiments. The findings indicated that the vibration in a certain frequency range is reduced where the spring stiffness is zero. However, this vibration isolator has a disadvantage in that it can only support an initial load that transfers to the zero-spring-stiffness region. Therefore, in this research, we improve the position of the linear spring attached to the isolator. As a result, the initial load range is extended by two to four times that of the conventional vibration isolator. Furthermore, the isolating performance is maintained even when the initial load is changed within a given load range.