Effects of preloading of metal rubber elements on its dry friction damping characteristics

In order to study the effect of the preloading of MR elements on the dry friction damping and lifetime characteristics of isolator, static and dynamic experiments are carried out on Metal Rubber (MR) isolators with preloading Q=1.1 mm and Q=2.2 mm, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the loading capacity and the ability of dissipating vibration energy of the MR isolator are influenced by the preloading of MR components. Compared with the isolator with large preloading (Q=2.2 mm), the isolator with little preloading (Q=1.1 mm) shows better performance in loading capacity and the ability of energy dissipation, and it has longer working time. It is concluded that the dry friction damping characteristics of MR isolator can be controlled effectively by the adjustment of the preloading of MR components in isolator.