PHASE VELOCITY OF RUBBER ELEMENT IN VIBRATION ISOLATOR UNDER STATIC LOAD

The dynamic properties of the rubber element of a vibration isolator are affected by its compression ratio, and thus the dynamic characteristics of a vibration isolator depend upon the static load. A vibration isolator may be modelled in terms of its phase velocity. Therefore, to predict the effect of the static load, a knowledge of the relationship between the phase velocity of the rubber element and its compression ratio is required. This study proposes such a relationship, and applies it to experimental data from the literature. The proposed relationship is experimentally investigated and improved in a companion publication.