Frequency response of a suspension system with inerter and play

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the suspension performance with an inerter/play combination. A play is usually regarded as a mechanical defect or unwanted space clearance, which can cause impulsive momentum exchange. When the play is negligibly small, such as for compressed or tensioned designs, solid inerters would function as the original purpose. However, the play would inevitably grow after periodic movements. When the size of the play is comparable to the excitation amplitude, the associated suspension system would deviate from the ideal performance, which is investigated in the present work. The impact mechanism between the payload and the inerter via the play is first modeled, and its simulation result is then compared with that from the experiment, by means of frequency response. As a preliminary work, this paper outlines the potential of the inerter/play combination in suspension systems, which guides the tolerance criteria of the play or even the benefit purpose against harmful resonance.