Design of a nonlinear stiffness metastructure isolator for powered wearable devices vibration isolation

The vibration control performance of powered wearable devices (PWDs) directly affects the health and comfort of the wearer. Effective vibration isolation technology has become a fundamental aspect of next-generation wearable device design. This study proposes a highly integrated nonlinear stiffness metastructure vibration isolator design for PWDs to address vibration isolation requirements in such scenarios. In this paper, we systematically analyze and experimentally verify the static characteristics of the proposed metastructure vibration isolator through numerical analysis, analytical model and experimental methods, and deeply discuss its dynamic transmissibility characteristics. Among them, we analytically derive and calculate the cantilever beam oscillator of the metastructure vibration isolator and verify the numerical results. Utilizing the mode superposition method, we examine the variations in vibration transmissibility under different operating conditions and geometric parameters. Experimental results are consistent with the numerical calculation results and demonstrate that the isolator exhibits excellent vibration attenuation within the vibration isolation frequency range of 53-61 Hz, achieving a minimum vibration transmissibility of −38 dB. The metastructure vibration isolation system presented in this study successfully achieves the anticipated vibration suppression performance, offering a novel approach to vibration isolation design for PWDs.