Use of Internally Resonant Energy Transfer from the Symmetrical to Anti-symmetrical Modes of a Curved Beam Isolator for Suppressing the Source Mass Vibration and Enhancing the Isolation Performance

In an isolation system, the vibration of the source mass and the vibration that is transmitted to the receiver structure may be significantly amplified at the resonant frequency. These two forms of vibration are unwanted. This project will make use of the internally resonant energy transfer from the first symmetrical mode to the anti-symmetrical modes to develop a curved beam isolator, which will alleviate the amplifications of the two unwanted forms of vibration. The project will produce numerical and experimental results for understanding how to make use of internal resonance for vibration reduction and isolation. The results will be useful for engineering applications. For instance, many commercial buildings in Hong Kong use their roofs to house pumps and chillers. Normally, these machines are mounted on isolation systems to eliminate the vibration transmissions to the roofs. However, the machine vibrations may be amplified at the resonant frequency of the isolation system. The amplified vibrations result in damage to the machines, and must be alleviated. This study will aim to improve the isolation performance of such systems.