Vibration Damping Mechanical Properties of Low-Cost O-Ring Dampers

In short-life aeroengines, O-ring dampers feature a simple structure and low cost, making them a viable alternative to squeeze film dampers while ensuring the vibration damping performance of the rotor system. Owing to the hyperelastic and viscoelastic properties of rubber materials, O-rings exhibit complex nonlinear dynamic behaviors, and their inherent damping mechanism has not been fully clarified. Taking O-ring dampers as the research object, this study combines numerical simulations and experimental investigations to reveal their vibration damping mechanisms. The dynamic stiffness of the O-ring increases nonlinearly with rising excitation frequency, whereas the damping coefficient decreases nonlinearly with increasing frequency. With increasing frequency, the material response of the O-ring damper lags behind the load variation, suppressing the stress relaxation process. This weakens the energy dissipation capacity, leading to a nonlinear reduction in damping; simultaneously, the elastic response intensifies rapidly, resulting in a nonlinear increase in stiffness. At high frequencies, the frequency-dependent effect gradually diminishes. As the eccentricity increases, the area of the O-ring hysteresis curve expands gradually, while the slope variation is relatively slight; concurrently, both the dynamic stiffness and damping of the O-ring decrease. Compared with excitation frequency, the influence of eccentricity on the dynamic characteristics of the O-ring is relatively minor. The damping performance of O-ring dampers degrades significantly under high operating conditions.