Dynamic Characteristic Analysis of a Half-Vehicle Seat System Integrated with Nonlinear Energy Sink Inerters (NESIs)

Abstract

To enhance the dynamic performance of half-vehicle seat systems and reduce vibrations in both the vertical and pitching directions, a nonlinear energy sink inerter (NESI) can be introduced and aligned with lightweight design principles. A dynamic model of a half-vehicle seat system integrated with NESIs is constructed using Newton’s second law. The dynamic response of the system under pavement harmonic and random excitations is obtained using the pseudo-arc-length and harmonic balance methods and the numerical method, respectively. The dynamic behavior of the system is assessed using eight evaluation indexes. The optimal structural parameters of the NESIs are determined through the genetic algorithm. The results indicate that using NESIs attenuates resonance peaks and reduces root mean square (RMS) values for vehicle seat suspension strokes, front and rear suspension system strokes, and front and rear dynamic tire loads. However, the resonance peaks and RMS values for other performance indexes, which are vehicle seat vertical acceleration, the bodywork vertical, and pitching accelerations, exhibit an increase. When the structural parameters of the NESIs are optimized and contrasted with the original NESIs, the RMS values of the bodywork’s vertical and pitching acceleration, seat vertical acceleration, and seat suspension stroke will decrease by 23.97%, 27.48%, 23.59%, and 14.29%, respectively, and the other evaluation indexes will satisfy the limit conditions.