A suspension system with quasi-zero stiffness characteristics and inerter nonlinear energy sink

In this article, a novel vibration control scheme of suspension systems is proposed. It combines the advantages of quasi-zero stiffness isolator, nonlinear energy sink absorber, and inerter. This proposed scheme can achieve low transmissibility, low amplitude, and low additional weight and resolve the conflict between riding comfort and handling stability. Strong nonlinear vibration equations of a quarter-vehicle suspension system are established. It also presents the detailed process of high-order harmonic approximation to obtain steady-state responses. Moreover, approximate solutions are validated by a numerical method. Furthermore, based on riding comfort and handling stability, the following four suspension systems are evaluated and compared, namely, 2-degree-of-freedom quarter-vehicle model, 2-degree-of-freedom quarter-vehicle with quasi-zero stiffness isolator, 2-degree-of-freedom quarter-vehicle with inerter-nonlinear energy sink absorber, and 2-degree-of-freedom quarter-vehicle integrated control scheme with quasi-zero stiffness and inerter-nonlinear energy sink. It is found that the integrated control scheme with quasi-zero stiffness and inerter-nonlinear energy sink can significantly improve the riding comfort and handling stability at the same time. In addition, the effects of system parameters are studied carefully. The results show that based on the reasonable design of the control system parameters, better riding comfort and handling stability can be obtained. In short, this article provides a theoretical basis for integrating quasi-zero stiffness isolators and inerter-nonlinear energy sink absorbers to improve the riding comfort and handling stability.