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A new structure with negative stiffness and negative Poisson's ratio was designed to exhibit these characteristics during compression, energy absorption, and energy storage. The structure also shows improved impact resistance under extreme conditions due to transverse contraction during impact compression. These characteristics make the structure very suitable for use in spacecraft landing systems. A finite-element model using the improved Auricchio constitutive model was established, and compression tests were conducted on the new structure. The test results are in agreement with the simulation, validating the finite-element model. Comparing the new structure with traditional structures with negative Poisson's ratio, the new structure demonstrated significantly better energy absorption and experienced minimal deformation during the compression-pull process. In addition, the finite-element model was used to analyze the influence of cell structural parameters. Further analysis showed that cell width and wall thickness of a curved beam are critical parameters influencing the structure's overall energy-absorption performance, which should be emphasized in the design of landing energy-absorption devices with the new structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research introduces an air spring vibration isolator system (ASVIS) based on a negative-stiffness structure (NSS) to improve the vehicle seat's vibration isolation performance at low excitation frequencies. The main feature of the ASVIS consists of two symmetric bellows-type air springs which were designed on the basis of a negative stiffness mechanism. In addition, a crisscross structure with two straight bars was also used as the supporting legs to provide the nonlinear characteristics with NSS. Moreover, instead of using a vertical mechanical spring, a sleeve-type air spring was employed to provide positive stiffness. As a result, as the weight of the driver varies, the dynamic stiffness of the ASVIS can be easily adjusted and controlled. Next, the effects of the dimension parameters on the nonlinear force and nonlinear stiffness of ASVIS were analyzed. A design process for the ASVIS is provided based on the analytical results in order to achieve high static–low dynamic stiffness. Finally, numerical simulations were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the ASVIS. The results obtained in this paper show that the values of the seat displacement of the ASVIS with NSS were reduced by 77.16% in comparison with those obtained with the traditional air spring isolator without NSS, which indicates that the design of the ASVIS isolator with NSS allows the effective isolation of vibrations in the low-frequency region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research introduces an air spring vibration isolator system (ASVIS) based on a negative-stiffness structure (NSS) to improve the vehicle seat’s vibration isolation performance at low excitation frequencies. The main feature of the ASVIS consists of two symmetric bellows-type air springs which were designed on the basis of a negative stiffness mechanism. In addition, a crisscross structure with two straight bars was also used as the supporting legs to provide the nonlinear characteristics with NSS. Moreover, instead of using a vertical mechanical spring, a sleeve-type air spring was employed to provide positive stiffness. As a result, as the weight of the driver varies, the dynamic stiffness of the ASVIS can be easily adjusted and controlled. Next, the effects of the dimension parameters on the nonlinear force and nonlinear stiffness of ASVIS were analyzed. A design process for the ASVIS is provided based on the analytical results in order to achieve high static–low dynamic stiffness. Finally, numerical simulations were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the ASVIS. The results obtained in this paper show that the values of the seat displacement of the ASVIS with NSS were reduced by 77.16% in comparison with those obtained with the traditional air spring isolator without NSS, which indicates that the design of the ASVIS isolator with NSS allows the effective isolation of vibrations in the low-frequency region.