Study of the Mechanical Properties and Vibration Isolation Performance of a Molecular Spring Isolator

Molecular Spring Isolator (MSI) is a novel passive vibration isolation technique, providing High-Static-Low-Dynamic (HSLD) stiffness based on the use of molecular spring material. The molecular spring material is a solid-liquid mixture consisting of water and hydrophobic nanoporous materials. Under a certain level of external pressure, water molecules can intrude into the hydrophobic pores of nanoporous materials, developing an additional solid-liquid interface. Such interfaces are able to store, release, and transform mechanical energy, providing properties like mechanical spring. Having been only recently developed, the basic mechanic properties of a MSI have not been studied in depth. This paper focuses on the stiffness influence factors, the dynamic frequency response, and the vibration isolation performance of a MSI; these properties help engineers to design MSIs for different engineering applications. First, the working mechanism of a MSI is introduced from a three-dimensional general view of the water infiltration massive hydrophobic nanoporous pores. Next, a wide range of influence factors on the stiffness properties of MSI are studied. In addition, the frequency response functions (FRFs) of the MSI vibration isolation system are studied utilizing the matching method based on equivalent piecewise linear (EPL) system. Finally, the vibration isolation properties of MSI are evaluated by force transmissibility.