Abstract: A study is presented as to how to design elastic constraints in a vibration isolation system,which is a crucial problem found in engineering practice. It is pointed out that the constraint space designed according to the classical linear theory is usually so small that the isolation system most likely undergoes nonlinear resonance in the case of small damping. As a result, the isolation system becomes a vibration amplifier. Then, the design of elastic constraints is analyzed from the viewpoint of nonlinear dynamics. Some design principles and the range of parameter selection as well are discussed.

Key words: vibration isolation, elastic constraint, nonlinear, dynamic design