The Basics of Vibration
Isolation Using
Elastomeric Materials
By Peter A. Masterson
Senior Applications Engineer
E-A-R Specialty Composites
Indianapolis, Indiana
Introduction This property is especially significant
When motorized equipment, such as when designing shock protection for
electric motors, fans or pumps, is portable electronics, which become
mounted to a solid structure, energy increasingly “miniaturized” with each
can be transferred from the equipment new model. A highly damped material
to the structure in the form of vibration. can provide the required impact protec-
This vibration often radiates from tion in a smaller envelope than would
the structure as audible noise and be required for an undamped material.
potentially reduces performance or
Natural Frequency
damages equipment. Most portable
All mounting
electronics, CD drives and vehicle- XIN
systems have a
mounted electronics are especially
natural frequency K=Spring
sensitive to vibration and shock and
(fn)—the Stiffness
must be isolated from that energy to
frequency at
ensure proper performance.
which the system XOUT
Isolation mounts reduce the transmis- will oscillate if it MASS (M)
sion of energy from one body to another is displaced from
by providing a resilient connection its static position Figure 1
between them. Selecting an improper and released. For example, consider a
mount for an application, however, can weight suspended from a rubber band,
actually make the problem worse. The similar to the single degree of system
incorrect mount may reduce the high model in Figure 1. If the mass is pulled
frequency vibration, but resonant condi- down from its resting state, stretching
tions at lower frequencies can actually the rubber band, and then released, the
amplify the induced vibration. During mass will move up and down at a
an impact, the mount deflects and certain frequency. This is the natural
returns some of the energy by rebound- frequency. The natural frequency, fn, is
ing. Preventing this energy return can dependent upon the stiffness of the
extend product life and prevent perform- spring, K, and the mass of the load that
ance problems such as skipping in a CD it is supporting (M), and can be deter-
drive and read/write errors on a hard mined by the following equations:
disk drive.
fn=1/2 π√K/M
Adding damping to a resilient mount
where K is the stiffness in newtons per
greatly improves its response. Damping
meter (N/m) and M is the mass in kilo-
reduces the amplitude of resonant
grams (Kg), or
vibration by converting a portion of the
energy into low-grade heat. Damping fn=3.13√K/W
also dissipates shock energy during an
impact. This reduces the amount of where K is the stiffness in pounds per
deflection required to absorb the shock, inch (lb/in) and W is the weight of the
providing protection in smaller spaces. mass in pounds.
Page 2
The natural frequency may also be deter- so viscous damping models can be used
mined using the static deflection that the for analysis. The damping ratio can be
mass induces on the spring in the equation approximated from the loss factor by
fn=1/2 π√G/d the following formula, which is more
accurate at lower damping levels than
where G is the acceleration due to gravity at higher ones.
(9.8 m/s2 or 32.2 ft/s2) and d is the static η≈2c/cc≈2ζ
displacement in meters or feet. This
A loss factor of 0.1 is generally considered
equation is true only for an undamped
a minimum value for significant damp-
system.
ing. Compared to this value, most com-
Damping monly used materials, such as steel, alu-
Controlling the natural frequency minum and most rubbers, do not have a
provides one means to control vibration. high level of damping. Other specialized
Damping provides another. Damping materials can have very high damping.
is the dissipation of energy, usually by Here are some materials and their
releasing it in the form of low-grade heat. approximate loss factor.
For example, dry friction, the most com- Material Approximate Loss Factor
mon damping mechanism, is the reason Aluminum .007-.005
an object sliding on a surface will slow Steel .05-.10
down and stop. Some mechanical devices Neoprene .1
Butyl Rubber .4
use viscous damping as a means of energy ISODAMP® C-1002 1.0
dissipation. In these systems, fluid losses thermoplastic
caused by a liquid being forced through a
small opening provide the necessary Vibration Isolation
energy loss. The shock absorbers on an The performance of an isolation system
automobile are an example of viscous is determined by the transmissibility of
dampers. Mathematical models for vis- the system—the ratio of the energy
cous damping are well established and going into the system to the energy
provide a means for analysis. Viscous coming from the system. This can be
damping capability is characterized by expressed in terms of acceleration, force
the damping ratio, C/Cc or z. or vibration amplitude. Transmissibility
(T) is equal to
√
Most elastomeric engineering materials
1+(2ζ fd/fn )
2
for vibration isolation use a mechanism T=|A /A |=
out
in
known as hysteretic damping to dissipate
energy. When these materials are
[1-( f /f ) ] +[2ζ f /f ]
d
n
2 2
d
n
2
deformed, internal friction causes high Where: T= Transmissibility
energy losses to occur. The loss factor is Aout= Energy out of system
used to quantify the level of hysteretic (transmitted force)
damping of a material. The loss factor (η) Ain= Energy into system
is the ratio of energy dissipated from the (Disturbing force)
system to the energy stored in the system ζ= Damping ratio
for every oscillation. It is often useful to fd= Driving frequency
relate the loss factor to the damping ratio fn= Natural frequency
Page 3
When the frequency ratio equals the
10
B Low Damping square root of two (fd/fn =√2), transmis-
(Rubber, Silicone)
sibility will once again drop to 1. This is
3 Amplification Region
known as the crossover frequency, and the
Transmissibility High Damping (E-A-R C-1002)
(Aout /Ain) A area below this frequency is known as
(LOG SCALE) 1
C
Isolation Region
the amplification region. Above this fre-
.3
quency lies the isolation region, where
D
transmissibility is less than 1. As a goal,
.1
1 √2 2 4 8
the isolator designer tries to design a
Frequency Ratio (FD /FN) mounting system that puts the primary
Figure 2 operating frequencies of the system in
the isolation region. Many systems must
Figure 2 shows two typical transmissi- operate at a number of primary frequen-
bility curves, one for a highly damped cies or must frequently go through a
material (ζ≈0.5), another for a material startup or slowdown as part of the oper-
with much lower damping (ζ≈ 0.05) ation cycle. For these systems, damping
At very low frequencies (fd/fn << 1), the in the mount becomes increasingly
input vibration virtually equals output important when it must function at or
(the transmissibility is equal to 1), and near resonance.
input displacement essentially equals
that of output.
40
Values of Transmissibility are
If the driving frequency equals the nat- 35 for Single Degree of Freedom
30 System under conditions of
ural frequency (fd/fn = 1), the system Peak 25 sinusoidal excitation at the
Transmissibility system natural frequency.
operates at resonance. If damping is 20
15
ignored in the equation for transmissi- 10
bility that was given earlier, a system 5
that is operating at resonance will have 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
System Loss Factor
a transmissibility approaching infinity.
As damping increases, the transmissibili- Figure 3
ty at resonance decreases. Figure 3
shows the relationship between peak As frequency continues to increase
natural frequency at resonance and loss above the crossover frequency, the level
factor. Of course, all real world systems of isolation, or the isolation efficiency,
have some level of inherent damping, increases. Figure 4 shows this relation-
but this demonstrates the important role ship. Designers must know the isolation
that damping can play in vibration efficiency of the mounting system when
isolation. When a vibration isolation transferred energy must be below a
mount with very little damping is specified level, in devices such as
used at or near resonance, the energy CD-ROM or hard disk drives.
amplification can create many
problems, ranging from a simple
increase in noise levels to catastrophic
damage to mechanical equipment.
Page 4
100
Design Guide
90 Here are guidelines that will assist in the
80 design of axially loaded isolation mounts
70
Isolation 60 and pads from sheet materials.
Efficiency %
50
40 1. Optimize load. Proper performance
30 depends on proper loading. Referring
20
10
to the natural frequency equation,
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
fn=3.13√K/W , if the mass of the load
Crossover Frequency Ratio (F/Fc) is very small for the stiffness of the
selected mount, the natural frequency
Figure 4
of the system will be high, reducing the
Mount Design Using Elastomeric isolation performance. An overloaded
Materials mount, can compress completely, or
There are many material options for pro- bottom out, increasing the effective stiff-
ducing resilient elastomeric mounts. ness of the mount. This also increases the
Thermoplastic materials (ones that can natural frequency. Overloading an elas-
be melted and formed), such as many tomeric mount can also cause internal
vinyl and rubber elastomers, can be stresses that can reduce the useful life of
injection-molded into cost efficient and the mount. Generally, a 5% static com-
detailed parts. Thermosets (materials pression of the mount is appropriate for
that react in the mold and cannot be most materials, although static compres-
remelted) offer another option, and must sions of up to 15% may provide adequate
be molded through other methods, com- isolation and part life. For homogeneous
monly compression or transfer molding. elastomers with a durometer (hardness)
Due to longer cycle times, thermoset of around 50-60 shore A, ideal loading is
piece prices often exceed that of thermo- generally around 50 pounds per square
plastics, but the materials can also offer inch (psi), although loading of anywhere
chemical and strength properties that can from 10 - 100 psi may still be effective.
not be met by thermoplastics. Damping Softer elastomers should be loaded less
and stiffness can also vary greatly with than stiffer elastomers.
different materials. (E-A-R Specialty 2. Shape factor (S) of 0.5 to 1.0. Solid
Composites manufactures several elastomers act as incompressible solids,
isolation materials with a variety of and therefore must have room to bulge
stiffnesses and damping properties. in order to deflect. Therefore, the shape
Information on these materials can be factor, or bulge factor, should be opti-
found on the company’s Website or by mized to achieve the expected stiffness.
contacting E-A-R. See back page.) Shape factor (S) is defined as
The following section outlines several
key points to be considered when S= Area under load.
Area free to bulge
designing isolation systems.
Page 5
A 4. Calculate stiffness (K).
Calculate stiffness using the following
formulas.
B
Disk Ring
K=ECorrected πa2 K= ECorrected π(a02-ai2)
t t
Figure 5
Block
Example: Consider a mount of the shape in
K=ECorrected lw
Figure 5. Surface A, the loaded surface, t
has an area of 2 square inches. Surface B,
free to bulge on all sides of the mount, a= Disk radius
has a total area of 3 square inches. The ao= Outer ring radius
shape factor is S = 2/3 = 0.66. A high l= Block length
shape factor produces a stiff mount. With t= Thickness
a low shape factor, the mount may buckle ai= Inner ring radius
and be unstable. A shape factor of 0.5 to w= Block width
1.0 proves appropriate for most materials. Combine shapes to determine the stiffness
Changing the thickness of the mount or of complex parts. Many parts can be con-
changing the cross section of the mount sidered a combination of two blocks, a
changes the shape factor. Rings, strips, or block and a disk, or any other combination
other shapes can be useful in creating the of geometry. Determine the stiffness of
proper shape factor. each section as outlined in 4a. Then deter-
3. Determine the dynamic modulus of mine if the parts are in series or parallel.
the elastomeric (E).
The dynamic modulus of the material can
be determined using a reduced frequency
nomogram. The dynamic modulus of a
highly damped material will be affected
by temperature and frequency. A nomo-
gram can provide the dynamic modulus Example A Example B
and loss factor information over a range Block and disk in series Disks in parallel
of temperatures and frequencies. It may Block and disks in series
Figure 6
be useful to convert dynes/cm2. To con-
vert to psi, multiply by 1.45 x 10-5. To
convert to N/m2, multiply by 0.10). Figure 6 shows some examples. Example
A shows a block in series with a disk
Calculate the effect of the shape (they are stacked on top of each other).
factor using the following equations. Example B shows two disks in parallel
Disk Shape Block Shape (they are next to each other). These two
E Corrected = E (1+2S2) E Corrected = 4/3 E (1+S2) disks are also in series with the block. To
determine to overall stiffness, use the
equations below to combine the stiffness-
es of the individual shapes.
Page 6
Shapes in series: vinyl thermoplastic, ISOLOSS® HD
1/KOverall=1/K1+1/K2+1/K3+…+1/Kn urethane, and VersaDamp™ TPE. These
have been designed with the appropri-
Shapes in parallel:
ate geometry and load specifications in
KOverall=K1+K2+K3+…+Kn
mind, and have been used in many
Assume the blocks in Figure 6 have a kinds of products. Please consult
stiffness of 20 lb/in and the disks have E-A-R’s “Designing with Isolators”
a stiffness of 10 lb/in. The total stiffness booklet for more information, including
of Example A would be a worksheet to determine the natural
1/KA=1/KBlock+1/KDisk =1/20+1/10=3/20 frequency when using the molded parts.
E-A-R also manufactures several other
KA=20/3=6.66 lb/in propriety materials that can be used
The total stiffness of Example B would be to solve various vibration and shock
isolation problems. These include
Stiffness of disks in parallel,
ISOLOSS VL Low Modulus Urethane
KDisks=KDisk 1+KDisk 2=10+10=20 lb/in. Elastomer
Stiffness of block and disks in series, ISOLOSS LS High Density Urethane
1/KB=1/KBlock+1/KDisks =1/20+1/20= 1/10 Foams
KB=10 lb/in CONFOR® Ergonomic Urethane Foams
5. Calculate the natural frequency. Use Acknowledgements
the following relationship. W is the Gardner, Ross. “The Reduction of High
overall weight load in pounds. M is the Frequency Vibration and Noise by
overall mass load in kilograms. Using E-A-R ISODAMP® Isolation
Materials.” Indianapolis: E-A-R
English units: fn=3.13√Koverall/Woverall Division, Cabot Corporation, 1976.
Metric units: fn=.16 √Koverall/Moverall
Inmann Daniel. Engineering Vibration.
Remember, vibration isolation in the Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,
system will occur above √2 fn. Most Inc., 1994.
systems have a certain frequency of
concern from which they must be isolat- Lord, Harold, William Gatley and
ed. This may be the rotational speed of a Harold Evensen. Noise Control for
motor, the blade passing frequency of a Engineers. New York: McGraw Hill
fan, and so forth. As a rule of thumb, the Book Company, 1980.
natural frequency of the mounting sys-
tem should be one-third of the frequency
of concern.
E-A-R Specialty Composites
E-A-R Specialty Composites offers a
wide range of standard molded grom-
mets, bushings and other isolators
molded from ISODAMP C-1000 Series
Page 7
Aearo Company
7911 Zionsville Road
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Toll-free (877) EAR-IDEA
(327-4332)
Fax (317) 692-3111
Website: [Link]
E-mail: solutions@[Link]
©2002 Aearo Company Printed 10.02