Air spring isolation systems are commonly used to support sources of vibration, or equipment sensitive to vibration, in order to reduce vibration transmission from source to receiver. In the latter case, commercial isolation tables or custom-designed “plinths” may use isolation systems to provide reduced vibration environments at the base of sensitive equipment supported on them. For passive isolation systems this occurs in some range above the resonance frequency of the isolator but below the compliance modes of the table or plinth. The achievable vibration environment is generally determinant given the existing ambient environment on the supporting structure plus some attenuation factor due to the isolation performance of the table or plinth, as a function of frequency. However, empirical data presented in this study show that the sound pressure acting on the isolation system also affects the achievable vibration environment for passive systems. The mechanism of this impact is discussed, as well as implied limitations in isolation table performance as a function of ambient acoustic pressure.
M. Gendreau, “The Effect of Varying Acoustic Pressure on Vibration Isolation Platforms Supported on Air Springs,” Proceedings of the 16th International Congress on Sound and Vibration (ICSV16), Kraców, Poland (5 to 9 July 2009)
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