Structural Design and Vibro-Mechanical Characterization Analysis of Variable Cross-sectional Metal Rubber Isolator

Satellites experience complex vibrational environments during launch and operation, potentially leading to structural failures and equipment damage. This work aimed to mitigate this issue by designing a variable cross-sectional metal rubber isolator (VCMRI), which was fully constructed from metal and featured a symmetric structure. Initially, a finite element model of VCMRI was developed, incorporating symmetric boundary conditions and employing the Bergström-Boyce model to define variable cross-sectional metal rubber (VCMR) parameters. Subsequently, sinusoidal sweep tests were performed to investigate how variations in VCMR density, spring stiffness, and excitation deflection angle affect the peak acceleration response and natural frequency of VCMRI. Finally, simulation analyses were conducted and insertion loss was derived from the results to assess the vibration isolation performance of VCMRI. The results indicate that the finite element model accurately captures the dynamic behavior of VCMRI with minimal error. In addition, VCMRI demonstrates robust vibration isolation performance by effectively integrating the influences of VCMR density, spring stiffness, and excitation angle, achieving insertion losses of up to 19.2 dB across a wide frequency range. It provides a robust theoretical support for the design and performance optimization of isolation systems, with potential positive impacts on relevant engineering applications.