Study of the Lifetime Testing of Spherical Rubber Isolators

Abstract

This study aims to identify the fatigue lifetime of a thin-walled hollow spherical rubber isolator subjected to harmonic and random vibrations. Firstly, the nonlinear characteristics of the rubber materials are tested and analyzed through vibration experiments. The relationship among the nonlinear stiffness, nonlinear damping, and relative displacement amplitude is established. Secondly, an accelerated lifetime experiment under random excitation is carried out. The correlation between the root-mean-squared acceleration response of the random vibration system and the stiffness attenuation of the rubber isolator is established and modeled. A lifetime prediction method for rubber isolators is proposed based on the model. Finally, the influence of different loads on the lifetime of the rubber isolator is investigated. These methods provide an additional rationale for the further theoretical research and practical engineering application of rubber damping systems.