Nonlinear compensation method for quasi-zero stiffness vibration isolation

Various quasi-zero stiffness (QZS) vibration isolators have been emerged in recent years and applied successfully in low-frequency vibration isolation. However, in most cases, the general approach to achieving QZS is still limited to compensating the negative stiffness of the bistable structure by linear springs. Here, a nonlinear compensation method (NCM) for realizing QZS is developed and the corresponding methodology is systematically investigated. Specifically, for a certain negative stiffness structure (not limited to bistable structure), QZS can be obtained by utilizing hardening stiffness to compensate. A confirmatory QZS vibration isolation system is established to fully verify the effectiveness of the NCM. The confirmatory system exploits rhombus structure to generate nonlinear negative stiffness, which can be compensated by nonlinear positive stiffness (provided by repulsive magnets). The static analysis is completed to reveal the inherent stiffness compensation mechanism. The dynamic and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed QZS system has low resonant frequency and wide effective vibration isolation frequency band. The NCM has reference significance in realizing QZS and is beneficial to develop diversified low-frequency vibration isolators.