Frontier advances in bionic-driven low-frequency nonlinear vibration isolation systems: a review of design mechanisms and analytical methods

Abstract In the context of high-end equipment manufacturing, there is an increasing emphasis on the dynamic stability of precision instruments. This has led to a growing need for effective isolation of low and medium frequency compound vibration sources. This issue has become a significant challenge in the field of vibration engineering. It is evident that biological evolution over the course of hundreds of millions of years has demonstrated flexibility and intelligence that far surpasses that of mechanical systems, thus providing bionic insights with regard to overcoming the limitations of traditional linear vibration isolation technology. This paper presents a systematic review of the latest advances in bionic nonlinear vibration isolation technology, including the simulation of the structural and functional properties of living organisms based on rod springs, the endowment of neural systems with electromagnetic components for active sensing and regulation, the extension of single-degree-of-freedom quasi-static vibration isolation to multi-degree-of-freedom coupled vibration suppression, and the development of passive topology optimisation to active-semi-active hybrid regulation. In the dimension of analytical method, the innovative application of harmonic balance method in multi-scale coupled dynamics modelling is discussed, and the systematic comparative analysis of bionic vibration isolator significantly reduces the intrinsic frequency of the system under the premise of maintaining the load carrying capacity, and significantly improves the performance of vibration isolation system in low-frequency, wide-frequency, and multi-dimensional vibration scenarios, which provides the theoretical basis and technological routes for the gradual application of the method in multiple fields such as robotics and aerospace. In conclusion, we have synthesised and examined the merits and limitations of contemporary bionic vibration isolation research, utilising state-of-the-art technology. This analysis aims to provide a more comprehensive framework for the design of bionic vibration isolation systems.