An approach for realizing lightweight quasi-zero stiffness isolators via lever amplification

Quasi-zero stiffness (QZS) vibration isolators exhibit excellent performance in low-frequency vibration isolation but require the negative stiffness to be consistent or close to the positive stiffness, which may lead to an excessively large volume or weight of the negative stiffness mechanism. In this paper, a lightweight QZS (L-QZS) vibration isolator using the lever amplification mechanism is developed, theoretically investigated, and experimentally verified. The negative stiffness can be amplified by one order of magnitude through the amplification effect of the lever structure, enabling a lower negative stiffness to compensate for the positive stiffness. Meanwhile, the lever increases the inertia effect of the negative stiffness structure, leading to an increase in the system’s effective mass and further reducing the resonance frequency. Results indicate that with a small negative stiffness, the isolation bandwidth of L-QZS isolators is significantly enlarged. The transmissibility at high frequencies of the L-QZS isolator tends to a certain value, which is mainly determined by the lever ratio and the tip mass of the lever. Furthermore, the negative stiffness can be controlled by adjusting the lever ratio, providing a viable method for matching various positive stiffnesses in engineering applications. •Achieving a lightweight quasi-zero stiffness isolator using lever mechanisms.•Low negative stiffness mechanisms (NSM) can compensate high positive stiffness.•Both the negative stiffness and effective mass of the NSM are amplified.•The lever of negative stiffness can be controlled by adjusting the lever ratio.•The proposed approach performs well in cases with small excitation amplitude.