Research on intelligent vibration damping base of washing machine based on a stiffness-variable magnetorheological elastomer

Traditional washing machine vibration-damping bases have a fixed stiffness, which can lead to structural resonance when the motor’s excitation frequency aligns with the machine’s inherent vibration frequency during the washing and spinning processes. This not only amplifies the noise caused by vibrations but also accelerates the wear and tear of the internal components. In this study, a pioneering approach has been introduced, developing an intelligent vibration-damping base for drum washing machines based on the dynamics of a mass-spring-damped single-degree-of-freedom system. This innovative base is designed with variable stiffness magnetorheological elastomer, utilizing the dynamics of the mass-spring-damped system to adaptively counteract vibrations. A vibration transmission rate curve specific to drum washing machines has been derived, and an intelligent control strategy for the drum washing machine’s vibration-damping base has been proposed. Dynamic testing of the drum washing machine’s vibration-damping base was conducted to verify the effectiveness of the intelligent damping base. The intelligent damping base addresses the unavoidable low-frequency resonance issues of traditional passive damping bases in washing machines and overcomes the drawback that the performance parameters of traditional passive isolation structures cannot be changed once set, providing a new direction for the damping of household appliances.