Nonlinear isolation performance of 6 × 19 wire rope of different lengths under compression

Stainless steel wire rope isolator is widely used in engineering. To optimize design of the isolator, loading, and unloading characteristics of the 6 × 19 6 mm wire rope under compression are investigated. Ropes of different lengths are tested to get the force-displacement relations. The stiffness, the equivalent damping ratio, and the hysteresis loop of the wire rope are derived. The stiffness decreases with both the length of the rope and the vibration amplitude. It has an approximate linear relationship with the reciprocal of length and amplitude. The equivalent damping ratio has an approximate quadratic relationship with the reciprocal of length and amplitude. The hysteresis loop of the wire rope is described using the proposed quadrilateral model. The loading stage is found to be determined by the length of the rope. The unloading stage is influenced by both the vibration amplitude and the length of the rope. Influences of the excitation amplitude and the frequency on the isolation performance for both steady-state vibration and transient impact vibration are revealed based on the models. The work would help engineers to design the isolators and predict responses of the structures.