Effects of isolators internal resonances on force transmissibility and radiated noise

Vibration isolators have been extensively used to reduce the vibration and noise transmitted between the components of mechanical systems. Although some previous studies on vibration isolation considered the inertia of isolators, they only examined its effects on the vibration of single degree-of-freedom (d.o.f.) systems. These studies did not emphasize the importance of the isolators' inertia, especially from the perspective of noise reduction. This paper shows that the internal dynamics of the isolator, which are also known as internal resonances (IRs) or wave effects, can significantly affect the isolator performance at high frequencies. To study the IR problem, a model of a primary mass connected to a flexible foundation through three isolators is used. In this model, the isolator is represented as a one-dimensional continuous rod that accounts for its internal dynamics. The primary mass is modelled as a rigid body with three d.o.f.'s. The effects of the IRs on the force transmissibility and the radiated sound power from the foundation are examined. It is shown that the IRs significantly increase the force transmissibility and the noise radiation level at some frequencies. These effects cannot be predicted using a traditional model that neglects the inertia of the isolator. The influence of the foundation flexibility on the IRs is also investigated. It is shown that the foundation flexibility greatly affects the noise radiation level but it affects only slightly the force transmissibility, especially at high frequencies where the IRs occur. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.