Vibration isolation characteristics of a rubber isolator in the deep water condition

Abstract In order to explore the effect of the deep water condition on the vibration isolation performance of rubber isolators, a finite element model of shipboard rubber vibration isolator with different depths which considers the nonlinear material properties of rubber is established. The nonlinear properties of rubber materials are characterized by the Mooney-Rivlin hyper-elasticity model. Hydrostatic pressure is applied on the surface of the isolator in the form of pre-stress to simulate deep water conditions. The static and dynamic mechanical characteristics of the rubber isolator under deep water environment are obtained. The results show that the static stiffness of vibration isolator increases with the water depth, especially when the rubber hardness is high. The natural frequency of the isolator under deep water environment increases with the water depth. The transmission loss of rubber isolators under deep water environment significantly reduces due to the change of static stiffness. The results can provide technical support for the design and optimization of underwater vibration isolators.