Vibration isolation for space structures using HTS-magnet interaction

We employ the HTS-magnet interaction in the mechanical design of a vibration isolator. One common element of space structures is the coupling between multiple substructures or mechanical parts. Often, such coupling needs to provide a transmission of force between the two systems while blocking out the propagation of the vibration energy from one system to the other. A solution to this is to establish a soft link between the two systems. In this paper, we design a passive vibration isolation device employing the characteristics of the HTS-magnet interaction. The configuration of the vibration isolator consists of a ring magnet and a thin disk HTS where the HTS is located in the middle of the magnet and is levitated. Experiments show that the natural frequency of the system is 4 Hz and the frequencies above 10 Hz are successfully isolated. Such a passive device in space applications is superior to similar active devices that often require bulky control circuit boxes and consume considerable energy that is not readily available in the space environment. The concept can also be used as an isolation platform and can combine with the active vibration isolation technology so as to attenuate the vibration of all frequencies.