Compliant snubbers are the indispensable emergency component in the low-frequency vibration isolation arrangements of the sensitive electro-optic payloads undergoing frequent exposure to the harsh environmental shock and vibration. Their primary objective is to protect the payload from colliding with the surroundings and vibration mounts form bottoming and failure originated from their excessive deflection. Needless to say, the snubber operation is associated with developing high impulsive reaction forces and accelerations capable of damaging inherently shock and vibration sensitive components of electro-optic payload. Therefore, special attention needs to be paid to their optimal design aimed at minimizing the above reaction forces and acceleration subject to limitations imposed on the peak deflections of the snubber. Unfortunately, a regular approach to an optimal design of snubbers for such sensitive equipment does not seem to exist. Using the Kelvin-Voight body approach, the authors develop an analytical model of the axial collision of a lumped body with a visco-elastic snubber and make experimental substantiation of the chosen model. From analytical solution, the authors evaluate restitution ratio, peak values of the acceleration, snubber deformation and develop procedure of the optimal design. In particular, the apparent damping ratio of the snubber is 40% independently upon the approaching velocity, snubber stiffness and allowed deformation. Further, by adapting the above model of visco-elastic collision in the Matlab-Simulink environment, the authors are attempting to design the optimal snubber for the more complicated case of low frequency vibration isolated payload exposed to the gravity forces and environmental acceleration half-sine shock 20g@11ms per MIL STD 810F. The authors discuss the obtained results and practical aspects of designing and using optimal snubbers.

Date Published: 8 June 2007
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 6542, Infrared Technology and Applications XXXIII, 65422O (8 June 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.721503

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6542:
Infrared Technology and Applications XXXIII
Bjørn F. Andresen; Gabor F. Fulop; Paul R. Norton, Editor(s)