Modeling and analysis of dual-chamber pneumatic spring with

adjustable damping for precision vibration isolation

Huayan Pu, Xin Luo, Xuedong Chen
n
State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074,
Hubei Province, China
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 17 June 2010
Received in revised form
1 March 2011
Accepted 6 March 2011
Handling Editor: L.G. Tham
Available online 2 April 2011
a b s t r a c t
Dual-chamber pneumatic spring with adjustable damping (DCPS-AD) employs a
variable orice mechanism (VOM) to obtain the adjustable stiffness and damping
characteristics. These adjustable characteristics are aimed at improving the perfor-
mance of the pneumatic vibration isolation system (VIS). In order to understand
thoroughly how the adjustable parameter of VOM affects the behavior of DCPS-AD,
the model of DCPS-AD is derived analytically and validated experimentally. The
inuence of VOM on the performance of DCPS-AD is analyzed quantitatively. All the
results demonstrate that VOM has the ability to vary complex stiffness distribution in
frequency domain. Based on these results, the approach optimizing the performance of
VIS is proposed, which is realized by adjusting VOM actively. Performance experimental
measurements of VIS in frequency domain are carried out under different payload
masses. The measurement results validate the proposed approach, which can optimize
the performance of VIS when some application conditions varying.
Crown Copyright & 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Ultra-precision vibration isolation systems (VIS) have been essential in the eld of ultra-precision engineering, along
with the progress of ultra-precision metrology equipment and ultra-precision manufacturing systems. The requirements
of lower natural frequency, higher attenuation ratio for ultra-precision vibration isolation systems have become more and
more stringent [1].
Of an ultra-precision VIS, pneumatic spring is one of the key elements. Compared to mechanical or electromechanical
devices, a pneumatic spring has the ability to support large mass with small stiffness due to the volumetric compressibility
of air [2].
The demands for a pneumatic spring are softer stiffness and better damping characteristics. Optimal structure design
and active control [3] are well-recognized as two effective ways to improve the vibration isolation performance of a
pneumatic spring. However, to achieve the best performance of both these ways, an accurate model of the pneumatic
spring is essential.
Several researchers have investigated the performance of pneumatic spring involved in ultra-precision VIS theoretically
and/or experimentally. The pneumatic spring using in precision vibration isolation has a small stroke and constant
effective piston area. Heertjes and van de Wouw [4] developed a nonlinear model of a single-chamber pneumatic spring.
They presented that the single-chamber pneumatic spring shows obvious nonlinearity when the displacement of the
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jsvi
Journal of Sound and Vibration
0022-460X/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright & 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jsv.2011.03.005
n
Corresponding author. Tel./fax: 86 27 87557325.
E-mail address: chenxd@mail.hust.edu.cn (X. Chen).
Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590
payload is not small enough. Due to the lower stiffness and better damping characteristic, dual-chamber pneumatic spring
is used widely in the vibration isolation system for ultra-precision instruments.
DeBra [5] proposed a simple linear model of the pneumatic vibration isolator. He presented that air ow from the
isolator to a tank can dissipate the oscillatory energy if it is passed through a restrictor. Erin and Wilson [6] employed this
model to simulate the transmissibility of dual-chamber pneumatic isolator and measured the transmissibility experi-
mentally. The existence of the discrepancy between the measured result and simulation was observed. A modied model
that incorporates the effects of the diaphragm was proposed to improve the accuracy of analytical model. Lee and Kim [7]
investigated the complex stiffness of the dual-chamber pneumatic spring experimentally. Except the frequency
dependence, the experiment results exhibited signicantly vibration amplitude dependent nonlinear behavior. Through
the rened analysis, they pointed out that there were two phenomena attributed to this nonlinear behavior, one is the
amplitude-dependent complex stiffness of the diaphragm, and another is the oscillating ow in capillary tube. Based on
the improved model, a transmissibility design method was proposed [8] to make the frequency of the maximum damping
coincide with the resonance frequency of transmissibility. The ow restriction coefcient, chamber volume ratio and
diaphragm stiffness were optimized to achieve optimum transmissibility.
The performance of dual-chamber pneumatic spring (DCPS) is much better than the single chamber pneumatic spring.
Nevertheless, it is still a passive vibration isolator with xed characteristic parameters. While the application condition
varying, such as the payload mass, frequency band of disturbance, the effectiveness of vibration isolation will be affected.
For example, while payload mass of VIS varying, the natural frequency of the vibration isolation system changes. Due to
variation of natural frequency, the frequency of maximum damping of the optimal pneumatic spring does not coincide
with the resonance frequency of VIS anymore. The dual-chamber pneumatic springs in the previous studies have constant
characteristic parameters, such as the restriction coefcient. This means that, once the pneumatic spring is engineered,
these parameters cannot be adjusted any longer. Therefore, the optimal designed pneumatic spring obtains the optimum
performance only for the special application object under the special application condition. In order to obtain optimum
performance in a range of application, some characteristic parameters of pneumatic spring should be adjustable according
to the characteristic of application condition.
The dual-chamber pneumatic spring with adjustable damping (DCPS-AD) can solve this puzzle, which utilizes a variable
orice mechanism (VOM) to vary the equivalent area of the orice actively, which results in the variable stiffness and
damping adjustable ability. Hence, the behavior of DCPS can be varied actively according to the change of application
condition. Then, better effectiveness of vibration isolation can be obtained. To realize this, it is important to understand
thoroughly how the adjustable parameter affects the behavior of DCPS-AD.
In this paper, the inuence of VOM on the performance of DCPS-AD is analyzed quantitatively and the VIS performance
optimal approach by adjusting VOM actively is proposed. The analytical model of DCPS-AD is investigated theoretically
and experimentally. The effect of the variable orice mechanism, along with other operating conditions (frequency of
vibration) on the characteristic of the pneumatic spring is studied. The paper comprises 6 sections. In Section 2, the
structure of the DCPS-AD is presented. The model of DCPS-AD is developed in Section 3. Computation simulation is carried
out to validate the analytical model in this section. The complex stiffness measurement is carried out to validate the
analytical model and simulation in Section 4. In Section 5, the relation between the variety of orice area opening and the
frequency characteristic of complex stiffness is built based on the analytical model, and the performance of pneumatic
vibration isolation system is analyzed and optimized. Conclusions are summarized in the end.
2. Structure of DCPS-AD
A DCPS-AD is presented as shown in Fig. 1. The DCPS-AD consists of a cylindrical metal body whose air volume is
enclosed by a thin-walled, exible and pressure resistant round membrane in the top end. A piston is seated on this
membrane which can provide high suspension force with low stiffness in the vertical direction. In order to obtain high
damping effect, the air space of the pneumatic spring is split into two chambers, named the Load Chamber (LC) and the
Damping Chamber (DC), respectively. These two chambers are linked by a variable orice mechanism (VOM), which
consists of a pipe and an adjustable orice valve. The stiffness of the dual-chamber pneumatic spring attributes to two
phenomena: internal volume variation due to compression of air in the spring caused by an external force acting on it, and
the elastic stiffness of the membrane [9]. The damping attributes to air ow through the orice, which controls the mass
ow rate between two chambers, and provides damping to the system. When the air uid ows along a pipe, and
encounters a constriction, for example an orice, a pressure differentiation exists, which forces the uid itself through the
constriction, causing a phenomenon that appears as damping [10]. The damping can be easily changed by the VOM.
3. Modeling and simulation of DCPS-AD
3.1. Some assumptions
The development of the model involves four parts: The rst part deals with the motion of the piston in response to the
displacement excitation; the second part establishes equations that govern thermodynamic behaviors of the LC and DC;
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3579
the third part represents the uid dynamic behavior of air ow through the VOM; and the fourth part deal with the complex
stiffness of the membrane. To analyze the characteristic of the pneumatic spring, the following assumptions are made:
Assumption 1. The air in both the static and dynamic equilibrium states can be considered to be ideal gas, since it is at
high temperature and low pressure with respect to its critical point values.
Assumption 2. The gas process that denes the relationship between pressure and volume in both LC and DC complies
with the adiabatic, isentropic relationship.
Assumption 3. The air ow through the VOM is frictionless, i.e., no energy loss due to friction, either in the uid itself or
between the uid and the pipe walls.
Assumption 4. The amplitude dependent behavior of the dual-chamber pneumatic spring is neglected in the model of
DCPS-AD. The focus of this paper is to study the inuence of the VOM on the characteristic of DCPS-AD, the vibration
amplitude assumes to be constant.
According to these assumptions, the pneumatic spring is simplied as two chambers connected by an orice, whose
equivalent area is variable, as shown in Fig. 2.
3.2. Modeling of the DCPS-AD
3.2.1. Denition of the stiffness of the DCPS-AD
The stiffness of the dual-chamber pneumatic spring under preload K is given by Eq. (1), according to the denition of stiffness
K
df
dx
(1)
x f
Fig. 2. Simplied model of the DCPS-AD.
Damping
chamber
Load
chamber
Membrane
Piston
Adjustable
orifice
Metal body
pipe
Fig. 1. Schematic of the DCPS-AD.
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3580
where df is the perturbation force acting on the piston, and dx is perturbation displacement of the piston. In static equilibrium
state, pressures in both chambers are constant and equal. The initial force acting on piston f is governed by
f A
p
p
0
p
atm
(2)
where p
0
and p
atm
are the absolute chamber pressure and the atmospheric pressure, respectively, and A
p
is the piston area.
When a small perturbation force df acts on the piton, the relation between the perturbation force and the instantaneous
variation of internal pressure of the LC dp
L
can be derived from the differentiation of Eq. (2) with respect to time t
df
dt
A
p
dp
L
dt
(3)
The volume of the LC V
L
is given by
V
L
A
p
x (4)
where x is the height of the LC.
Differentiating Eq. (4) with respect to time t yields
dV
L
dt
A
p
dx
dt
(5)
Substituting Eqs. (3) and (5) into Eq. (1), the stiffness of the dual-chamber pneumatic spring is obtained as
K
df
dx
A
2
p
dp
L
dV
L
(6)
Eq. (6) indicates that the stiffness of the DCPS-AD is related to the variations of both pressure (dp
L
) and volume (dV
L
)
in LC. However, because of the existence of DC connected with LC by the VOM, the variations of both dp
L
and dV
L
in LC are
strongly coupled with those in DC. Therefore, the dynamic relations between LC and DC must be elaborately developed,
in order to obtain stiffness characteristic of the pneumatic spring.
3.2.2. Modeling of the loading chamber
Perturbation force imposed on the piston causes variations of mass, pressure, volume and temperature changes in both
the LC and the DC. LC is analyzed as a control volume involving a moving boundary [11]. The mass ow rate of air into LC is
as [6,7]
_ m
L

1
RT
0
_ p
L
V
L0
k
p
L0
_
V
L
_ _
(7)
where p
L
, V
L
, m
L
, T are the pressure, volume, mass and temperature in LC, respectively, and k and R are the specic heat
ratio and the universal gas constant, respectively. The dot over a symbol is used to indicate time rate of change, and the
subscripts 0 denotes static equilibrium.
3.2.3. Modeling of the Damping Chamber
The DC can be analyzed as the control volume with a xed boundary, as there is no volume change in it. The mass ow
rate of air into DC _ m
D
can be obtained by using the same method as LC
_ m
D

1
RT
0
_ p
D
V
D0
k
_ _
(8)
where V
D0
is the volume of DC, and _ p
D
is the pressure change rate of DC.
3.2.4. Modeling of the variable orice mechanism
The mass ow rates of air into LC and DC are connected by the mass ow rate of air through the VOM, which is given as
_ m
o
_ m
L
(9a)
_ m
o
_ m
D
(9b)
According to the empirical correlations [12], the mass ow rate of air through the orice can be dened versus pressure
at its ends
_ m
o
A
o
p
u

2
RT
0

c (10a)
c
k
k1
p
d
pu
_ _
2=k

p
d
pu
_ _
k1=k
_ _ _ _
1=2
signp
L
p
D
for
p
d
pu
40:518
k
2
2
k1
_ _
k1=k1
_ _
1=2
signp
L
p
D
for
p
d
pu
r0:518
_

_
(10.b)
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3581
where A
o
is the equivalent area of orice. The pressures p
u
(p upstream) and p
d
(p downstream) are dened as
p
u
maxp
L
,p
D
, p
d
minp
L
,p
D

Flow parameter c given in Eq. (10b) is related to the pressure ratio of the upstream to downstream. When the pressure
differentiation between upstream and downstream is not too large, the pressure ratio p
d
/p
u
40.518, the ow is subsonic, c is a
function of the pressure ratio; otherwise, the owis sonic, the owparameter is constant. The pressure differentiation of DCPS-AD
is induced by the vibration. Thereby, the pressure ratio in DCPS-AD is much bigger than 0.518 as the vibration amplitude is small.
3.2.5. Membrane model
The membrane is made of a rubber material. It works as a complex stiffness element parallel connecting with the DCPS-AD.
For it is difcult to estimate the complex stiffness of the membrane analytically, the indirect method proposed by Lee and Kim
[7] is used to measure the complex stiffness of membrane K
M
(o). The measurement result is shown in Appendix A.
3.2.6. Complex stiffness of the DCPS-AD in frequency domain
The relation between the variations of pressure and variation volume in LC can be obtained by combining Eqs. (7)(10).
Transforming these equations into frequency domain through the Fourier transformation, the frequency characteristics of
the stiffness of the dual-chamber pneumatic spring can be obtained. The mass ow rates of air into LC and DC in frequency
domain are given by
~
M
L
o
1
RT
0
p
0
joV
L
o
V
L0
k
joP
L
o
_ _
(11)
~
M
D
o
1
RT
0
V
D0
k
joP
D
o
_ _
(12)
For the vibration amplitude is small compared to the height of the LC, the pressure differentiation between
two chamber is small. For the simplication of calculation, the nonlinear equations of mass ow rate through the VOM,
i.e. Eq. (10), is linearized at the vicinity of the nominal operating point as
~
M
o
o C
o
A
o
P
L
oP
D
o (13)
where C
o
is dened as the ow coefcient of orice, which can be obtained experimentally.
Substituting Eqs. (9) and (11)(13) into Eq. (6), the complex stiffness of DCPS-AD due to compression of air and air ow
between two chambers is obtained as
K
complex
A
o
,o k
V
D0
=RT
0
ko
_ _
2
1NC
o
A
o

2
V
D0
=RT
0
ko
_ _
2
1N
2
C
o
A
o

2
k
NC
o
A
o
V
D0
=RT
0
ko
V
D0
=RT
0
ko
_ _
2
1N
2
C
o
A
o

2
j (14)
where N is the volume ratio of DC over LC (V
D0
/V
L0
), and k is the stiffness of LC as dened by Heertjes and van de Wouw [5], and
k
kp
0
A
2
p
V
L0
The synthetical complex stiffness of the DCPS-AD can be represented by the sum of the complex stiffness due to compression
of air and air ow between two chambers and the complex stiffness due to the characteristic of membrane, it is given as
K

complex
A
o
,o K
complex
A
o
,o K
M
o (15)
The real part (K
storage
) of the complex stiffness refers to the storage stiffness, which denotes the stiffness characteristic
of the DCPS-AD; and, correspondingly, the imaginary part (K
loss
) is the loss stiffness, which describes the damping
characteristic of the pneumatic spring.
3.3. Computational simulation
Computational simulation of the complex stiffness is carried out. Table 1 gives the values of all parameters used in
computational simulation.
The complex stiffness of DCPS-AD of Eq. (15) is computed numerically in the frequency domain. Fig. 3 shows curves of
computational simulations along frequency axis, each with a different orice area, ranging from 9% opening to 100% opening.
From Fig. 3, it can be observed that, the storage stiffness has an S shape along frequency axis as shown in Fig. 3(a),
while the loss stiffness has a bell shape as shown in Fig. 3(b). If we separate frequency axis into ve stages, says, still
(less than 0.1 Hz), low-frequency stage (LF, up to about one Hertz), medium-frequency stage (MF, from several Hertz to
ten Hertz), and high-frequency stage (HF, ten Hertz to several ten Hertz, and more than 100 Hz), and higher-frequency
(HRF, larger than 100 Hz), we can nd that, no matter how much the orice area opening is, the storage stiffness is almost
a smaller constant at still and LF, and a bigger constant at HRF, while increases slightly along with frequency increasing in
LF, and dramatically in MF. Meanwhile, the loss stiffness has a smaller value at still, increases slightly in LF, dramatically in
MF till reaches the maximum (peak point). After the peak point, the value decreases dramatically in MF, and slightly in HF.
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3582
It is also interesting to observe that, with increasing the opening area of the orice, from 9% opening to 100% opening,
the values at still and in HRF are nearly changed, but the interval in which the storage increases slightly is extended, as
well the interval in which the storage increases dramatically shrinks.
Although the peak value of the loss stiffness is nearly changed with the opening area of the orice increase, the shape
is extended along the abscissa (frequency axis), and the peak point dramatically shrifts and appears at higher
frequency point. In our simulation investigation, by increasing the opening area of the orice, the frequency point at
which the maximum loss stiffness appears moves from 3 to 27 Hz.
4. Experiment results
4.1. Set-up of experiments
Experiment is undertaken to validate the effect of adjusting the opening area of the orice on the dynamic behavior
of the DCPS-AD. The varying capability of equivalent area of orice is generated by the adjustable orice valve in VOM.
Table 1
Parameters values used in simulation.
Symbol Value Unit Meaning
P
atm
101.325 kPa The standard atmospheric pressure
A
p
3.010
3
m
2
The piston area
k 1.4 Specic heat ratio
R 286.9 J/kg K Universal gas constant
P
0
4.610
2
kPa The initial pressure of Load and Damping chamber
x
0
18.510
3
m The initial height of the Load Chamber
V
L0
5.910
5
m
3
The initial volume of Load Chamber
V
D0
3.510
4
m
3
The volume of Damping Chamber
N 6 Volume ratio (V
D0
/V
L0
)
T
0
295 K Temperature
Fig. 3. Computational simulation of the complex stiffness with different orice area opening: (a) storage stiffness and (b) loss stiffness.
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3583
There is a certain relationship between the spool position of orice valve and orice ow area. Through the spool
displacement adjusting knob of the valve, the spool position can be easily adjusted to be the desired value and the desired
equivalent area of orice is obtained. The sketch of experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 4.
The dual-chamber pneumatic spring is installed on a computer-controlled test facility, BOSE test instrument
(ElectroForce 3500), which consists of the frame, linear motor, displacement sensor and load cell. The piston of the
pneumatic spring is xed to the mover of linear motor, which is used to exert the excitation. The bottom of the pneumatic
spring is installed on the xed part of the instrument. The input signal for stiffness test is a series of displacement sine
waves applied by the linear motor to the piston and measured by a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT). The test
frequency range is 0.220 Hz. The output is force wave which is measured by load cell. These signals are acquired by the
WinTest PCI Control Electronics which is the BOSE Corporations digital control hardware, and the acquired data is
analyzed by the BOSE Corporations WinTest dynamic mechanical analysis of materials and devices (DMA) software for
attaining the complex stiffness. The photo of the experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 5.
4.2. Results of experiments
The operational conditions in the experiment contain the frequency of the excitation sine signal and the orice area
opening. The comparisons between analytical model and experiments are shown in Fig. 6 with four different equivalent
orice areas. For these experiments, the vibration amplitude is xed at a constant value of 0.2 mm. It can be observed that
simulation results closely resemble experimental results. It is noted that the frequency point of the maximum loss stiffness
Pneumatic spring
Load cell
Linear Motor
LVDT
ElectroForce 3500
Force Signal
Displacement
Signal
Control
Signal
WinTest PCI
Control Electronics
DMA Softerware
Fig. 4. The sketch of experimental set-up.
Pneumatic
spring
Load Cell
ElectroForce
3500
VOM
Pipe
Adjustable
orifice valve
spool displacement
adjusting knob
Fig. 5. The experimental set-up for stiffness measurement of DCPS-AD.
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3584
o
max
shifts according to different equivalent orice areas. According to these results, it can be concluded that the
distribution of complex stiffness in the frequency domain can be actively adjusted by the VOM.
5. Analysis of complex stiffness and performance of VIS
5.1. Complex stiffness analysis of DCPS-AD
Through comparison between the experiment and computation, the delity of the analytical model is proved. For
further understanding the characteristic of the dual-chamber pneumatic spring in the frequency domain, the distribution
of the complex stiffness and transmissibility of pneumatic vibration isolation system are analyzed.
The complex stiffness of membrane exhibits amplitude dependent and frequency dependent behavior. Nevertheless, it
does not vary with the variant orice area opening. Meanwhile, compared to complex stiffness due to compression of air
10
0
10
1
10
2
0
5
10
x 10
4
Frequency (Hz)
S
t
o
r
a
g
e

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

(
N
/
m
)
Analytical Model
Experiment
10
0
10
1
10
2
0
1
2
3
4
5
x 10
4
Frequency (Hz)
10
0
10
1
10
2
Frequency (Hz)
10
0
10
1
10
2
Frequency (Hz)
10
0
10
1
10
2
Frequency (Hz)
10
0
10
1
10
2
Frequency (Hz)
10
0
10
1
10
2
Frequency (Hz)
10
0
10
1
10
2
Frequency (Hz)
L
o
s
s

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

(
N
/
m
)
Analytical Model
Experiment
0
5
10
x 10
4
S
t
o
r
a
g
e

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

(
N
/
m
)
Analytical Model
Experiment
0
1
2
3
4
5
x 10
4
L
o
s
s

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

(
N
/
m
)
Analytical Model
Experiment
0
5
10
x 10
4
S
t
o
r
a
g
e

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

(
N
/
m
)
Analytical Model
Experiment
0
1
2
3
4
5
x 10
4
L
o
s
s

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

(
N
/
m
)
Analytical Model
Experiment
0
5
10
x 10
4
S
t
o
r
a
g
e

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

(
N
/
m
)
Analytical Model
Experiment
0
1
2
3
4
5
x 10
4
L
o
s
s

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

(
N
/
m
)
Analytical Model
Experiment
Fig. 6. Complex stiffness comparison between the analytical model and experiment; (a.1) storage stiffness under orice area 9% opening; (a.2) loss
stiffness under orice area 9% opening; (b.1) storage stiffness under orice area 25% opening; (b.2) loss stiffness under orice area 25% opening; (c.1)
storage stiffness under orice area 64% opening; (c.2) loss stiffness under orice area 64% opening; (d.1) storage stiffness under orice area 100%
opening; and (d.2) storage stiffness under orice area 100% opening.
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3585
and air ow between two chambers, the complex stiffness due to dynamic of membrane is negligible. We prefer Eq. (14) to
Eq. (15) as the model describing the complex stiffness of DCPS-AD.
Eq. (14) shows that the complex stiffness of a dual-chamber pneumatic spring varies along with frequency o. K
storage
and
K
loss
have some interesting properties at different frequencies. Three frequency regions are dened to simplify the analysis:
(1) The low frequency region, in which the frequency obeys o5o
low
, where o
low
is dened as
o
low

RTk

1N
p
C
o
A
o

3
p
V
D0
In this frequency region, V
D0
=RT
0
ko
_ _
2
51NC
o
A
o

2
, the storage stiffness K
storage
is given by
K
storage
k
1NC
o
A
o

2
1N
2
C
o
A
o

2

k
1N
The dual-chamber pneumatic spring is equivalent to a single chamber pneumatic spring, whose effective volume
equals to the sum of the Load and Damping Chamber.
(2) The high frequency region, in which the frequency obeys oco
high
, where o
high
is dened as
o
high

3
p
RTkN1C
o
A
o
V
D0
In this frequency region, especially, o-1, V
D0
=RT
0
ko
2
441N
2
C
o
A
o

2
, the storage stiffness K
storage
is given by
K
storage
k
V
D0
=RT
0
ko
2
V
D0
=RT
0
ko
2
k
The dual-chamber pneumatic spring is equivalent to a single chamber pneumatic spring, whose effective volume equals to
the volume of LC.
(3) The middle frequency region, in which the frequency o is in the range of [o
low
o
high
]
In this frequency region, storage stiffness increases dramatically as the frequency increasing. At the same time, the loss
stiffness is signicant. Differentiation of K
loss
with respect to frequency o yields the slope of loss stiffness dK
loss
/do.
Making dK
loss
/do0, the frequency point of the maximum loss stiffness o
max
is obtained by
o
max

RTk1NC
o
A
o
V
D0
(16)
Fig. 7 shows the distribution of o
max
by increasing the orice area from 9% to 100% opening. It is changed from 3 to
27 Hz. It is noted that the distribution shows linear relationship between o
max
and the orice area.
5.2. Performance analysis of VIS
The vertical pneumatic vibration isolation system consists of the dual-chamber pneumatic spring and the payload
mass, as shown in Fig. 8. The displacement transmissibility and force mobility are the two performance indices of the
isolation system. The displacement transmissibility [4] between the base and payload mass can be expressed as
To
xo
x
b
o

K
complex
M,A
o
,o
Mo
2
K
complex
M,A
o
,o
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Orifice area opening

m
a
x

(
H
z
)
Fig. 7. Change in o
max
for varying orice area.
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3586
The force mobility of the system is dened by the payload acceleration response

xo and force acting on the payload
Fo, which can be expressed as
Yo
xo
Fo

o
2
Mo
2
K
complex
M,A
o
,o
The resonance frequency of the isolator systemo
n
is inuenced not only by complex stiffness of the pneumatic spring,
but also mass of the payload M. To optimize the transmissibility [8] and force mobility of the pneumatic vibration isolator,
the frequency point of the maximum loss stiffness o
max
should be as close to the resonance frequency o
n
as possible, in
order to reduce the peak value at resonance and obtain the large attenuation at high frequency (for the transmissibility).
Both o
n
and o
max
can be adjusted by changing the value of N, V
D0
and A
o
. Nevertheless, the value of the N and V
D0
cannot
be changed after the pneumatic spring manufactured. A
o
can be adjusted actively by the VOM. So the distribution of
complex stiffness in the frequency domain can be adjusted.
To validate the optimal approach by using VOM, the transmissibility and force mobility of the pneumatic VIS are
measured. The instruments used in experimental measurement include the ultra-low frequency acceleration sensor
(Model: PCB393B12, sensitivity: 9.8 V/g), modally tuned impulse hammer (model: PCB086d05, sensitivity: 0.25 mV/N).
LMS Test.lab (LMS INTERNATIONAL Co.) is used to acquire and analyze signals to obtain the frequency response plots.
Figs. 9 and 10 show the transmissibility and force mobility of the pneumatic VIS for increasing the orice area from 9% to
100% opening. It is observed that the resonance frequency reduces continuously by increasing the orice area from 9% to 100%
opening. However, the peak value at resonance does not increase continuously. The minimum peak value at resonance exists
when the orice area opening 25%. Fromthe frequency distribution of o
max
and o
n
shown in Figs. 7 and 9, it is noted that o
max
is closed to o
n
mostly when the orice opening is 25%. However, o
max
is less than o
n
when the orice opening is 9%, and o
max
is larger than o
n
when the orice opening 64% and 100%. To validate inuence of VOM on the performance of VIS furthermore,
Payload Mass
M
Base
x
b
x
Dual-chamber
Pneumatic Spring
K
complex
Fig. 8. The sketch of the pneumatic vibration isolation system.
10
0
10
1
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
5
10
15
Frequency (Hz)
T
r
a
n
s
i
m
i
s
s
i
b
i
l
i
t
y

(
d
B
)
9% opening
25% opening
64% opening
100% opening
Fig. 9. Transmissibility for varying orice area.
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3587
the acceleration response of payload under direct impulse disturbance is measured and shown in Fig. 11. It is obvious that the
payload response attenuated fastest when the orice area opening is 25%.
While application condition of the pneumatic isolator changes, such as the change of the payload mass, o
n
will change.
The optimal orice area opening of VOM should change along with the payload mass varying, which aims at keeping o
n
coincide with o
max
. To validate this, we decrease the payload mass and measure the force mobility of VIS with different
orice area openings again. As shown in Fig. 12, the peak value at resonance with 25% orice area opening is not minimal
anymore. Along with the payload mass decreasing, the resonance frequency increases, which leads o
n
not to coincide with
o
max
for the 25% orice area opening. Through increasing the orice area opening, the new optimal performance of the
system can be obtained when the orice area opening is 30%.
From Figs. 912, it is noted that the resonance peak of the transmissibility and force mobility under the optimum orice
opening are not completely suppressed. The reason is that the optimal performance is limited by the xed parameter of
DCPS, such as the volume ratio, the volume of the LC. The damping attributed to the air ow between two chambers has
the maximum inuence on the performance of DCPS-AD when o
max
coincides with o
n
. However, changing the orice area
has no effect on the degree of the maximum inuence, which is reected on the amplitude of maximum loss stiffness.
Substituting the frequency of the maximum loss stiffness described by Eq. (16) into Eq. (14), the maximum amplitude of
the loss stiffness K
loss_max
in frequency domain is obtained as
K
loss_max

kRTKN
1NRTk
2
1
It is noted that the maximum amplitude of the loss stiffness does not change along with variety of orice area.
The maximum amplitude of the loss stiffness should be increased to suppress the resonance peak of transmissibility.
10
0
10
1
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
x 10
3
Frequency (Hz)
F
o
r
c
e

M
o
b
i
l
i
t
y

(
g
/
N
)
9% opening
25% opening
64% opening
100% opening
Fig. 10. Force mobility for varying orice area.
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
6
4
2
0
2
4
6
8
x 10
3
Time (s)
I
m
p
u
l
s
e

r
e
s
p
o
n
s
e

(
g
)
9% opening
25% opening
64% opening
100% opening
Fig. 11. Impulse response in time domain.
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3588
Redesign of the structure parameters of the DCPS [8] and pneumatic active control [13] are the two methods to suppress
the resonance peak completely.
6. Conclusions
This paper presents a dual-chamber pneumatic spring with a variable orice mechanism, and focused on the analysis of
the inuence of VOM on the performance of the pneumatic spring. The complex stiffness model is developed to capture the
dynamic characteristics of the pneumatic spring. Comprehensive computational simulation is carried out to describe the
complex stiffness in the frequency domain with varying opening area of the orice. Experiments were carried out to
validate the analytical model. The results match the result of the computational simulation well. From these results, the
following conclusion can be drawn:
(1) The VOM can adjust stiffness and damping characteristics of the dual-chamber pneumatic spring, bringing variety of
the natural frequency and the peak value of the resonance frequency of the vibration isolation system.
(2) The stiffness characteristic in the frequency domain changes with the variety of opening area of the orice. The
frequency point at which stiffness changes dramatically shifts to the high frequency region, when the opening area of
the orice is increased.
(3) The damping characteristic in the frequency domain changes with the variety of opening area of the orice. The
frequency of the maximum damping increases when opening area of the orice is increased.
(4) The performance of pneumatic vibration isolator can be optimized by superposing the natural frequency and the
frequency point of maximum damping, through adjusting the VOM.
In the future work, we plan to install the VOM between two chambers to overcome the inuence of the pipe.
Furthermore, the orice valve of VOM will be replaced by the solenoid valve, thereby; stiffness and damping
characteristics of the pneumatic spring can be adjusted in real time. The pneumatic VIS composed by dual-chamber
pneumatic spring will become a semiactive system.
Acknowledgements
The work of this paper is partially supported by the Major Basic Research Program of China (973 Program)
(No. 2009CB724205), 863 High-Tech R&D Program of China (No. 2009AA04Z148). We are grateful to Mr. Anatoly Burov
for providing kindly help in improvement of English writing.
Appendix A. Measurement of complex stiffness of membrane
A thin-walled, exible and pressure resistant round membrane is involved to seal the Load Chamber from air leakage.
For it is difcult to estimate the complex stiffness of the membrane analytically, the indirect method proposed by Lee and
Kim [7] is used to measure the complex stiffness of membrane K
M
(o). The measurement result is shown in Fig. A1. For this
experiment, the vibration amplitude is 0.2 mm.
10
0
10
1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
x 10
3
Frequency (Hz)
F
o
r
c
e

M
o
b
i
l
i
t
y

(
g
/
N
)
9% opening
25% opening
30% opening
64% opening
100% opening
Fig. 12. Force mobility for varying orice area (payload mass decreasing).
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3589
References
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81101.
[7] Jeung-Hoon Lee, Kwang-Joon Kim, Modeling of nonlinear complex stiffness of dual-chamber pneumatic spring for precision vibration isolations,
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[8] Jeung-Hoon Lee, Kwang-Joon Kim, A method of transmissibility design for dual-chamber pneumatic vibration isolator, Journal of Sound and Vibration
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[12] ISO 6358 Standard, Pneumatic uid powercomponents using compressible uidsdetermination of ow rate characteristic, 1989.
[13] Yun-Ho Shin, Kwang-Joon Kim, Performance enhancement of pneumatic vibration isolation tables in low frequency range by time delay control,
Journal of Sound and Vibration 321 (35) (2009) 537553.
10
1
10
0
10
1
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
(a)
(b)
x 10
4
Frequency (Hz)
S
t
o
r
a
g
e

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

(
N
/
m
m
)
10
1
10
0
10
1
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
x 10
4
Frequency (Hz)
L
o
s
s

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

(
N
/
m
m
)
Fig. A1. Complex stiffness of membrane: (a) storage stiffness and (b) loss stiffness .
H. Pu et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 330 (2011) 35783590 3590