Analysis of a Novel Methodology for Shifting an Isolated Body Based on Nonlinear System Vibration

The asymmetrical damping of a vibration-isolation system induces a change in the mean position of the isolated body. Inspired by this phenomenon, a novel idea to vertically shift an isolated body based on nonlinear system vibration with asymmetrical damping is proposed. The proposed idea can be applied in fields that require the isolated body’s height to be adjusted. A methodology based on the homotopy analysis method (HAM), which is used to obtain the approximate analytical solution of a piecewise-smooth vibration-isolation system, was developed to verify the feasibility of the proposed idea. The accuracy of the solution obtained by the HAM was verified by the Runge–Kutta method. Furthermore, based on the analytical solution, the effects of critical parameters on the vibration responses of the system were analyzed. Finally, the proposed idea was applied to vehicle height adjustments. Simulation results showed that vehicle height adjustments could be realized only using a semi-active suspension. This provides a novel methodology for vehicle height control.