Numerical and experimental analysis of a vibration isolator equipped with a negative stiffness system

This paper presents a Negative Stiffness System (NSS) based on a set of two double-acting pneumatic linear actuators (PLA). The NSS is added to a system with a single degree of freedom, which consists of a sprung mass and a pneumatic spring. One end of each PLA is jointed to the sprung mass while the other end is jointed to the vibrating frame. In addition, the PLAs are symmetrically arranged so that they remain horizontal while the sprung mass is in static conditions. When the rear chamber is pressurised, the vertical component of the force applied by the PLAs will work against the pneumatic spring reducing the dynamic resonance frequency of the overall system. Experimental tests and simulations showed improvements regarding sprung mass isolation in comparison to the passive system without NSS, decreasing the resonance frequency by up to 58% and improving the vibration attenuation for different experimental excitations.