Stiffness characteristics of a polycal wire rope isolators

Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. The source of vibrations can be either natural or man-made. The vibrations caused by such source affect the operation of heavy machines and structures. Polycal Wire rope isolator (PWRI), a type of passive isolator can be used to attenuate the harmful effects of vibration. The main advantage of PWRI is that isolation in all the directions and in all planes can be provided. For a given mass, the key to achieve isolation is by reducing the natural frequency of the system lower than the excitation frequency. This is achieved by applying a flexible isolators and hence, the stiffness of the isolator plays a major role in the isolation applications. In this study, stiffness characteristics of polycal wire rope isolators are determined through experimental and numerical work. The numerical model of the polycal WRI is developed following the equivalent diameter approach using the flexural rigidity of the wire rope. It was found that the wire rope diameter greatly influences the stiffness of a PWRI. This work will enhance the understanding of the wire rope isolator for vibration isolation applications.