Optimization Design of a High Stability Supporting Structure on an Air-Floated Vibration Isolation Platform

For the optimization design of a high-stability 12-m-high supporting structure mounted on a 10 m x 7.5 m vibration isolation platform, the biggest challenge is to achieve a natural frequency of above 10 Hz and to make the stiffness-mass ratio as high as possible at the same time. Based on a preliminarily designed frame structure, optimization design based on tower structure and finite element analysis (FEA) is carried out. X-shaped crossbar structures and tilting supporting tubes are introduced as further reinforcement, besides dimensional and position parameters of the reinforcement structures are optimized with the assistance of FEA. FEA simulation results show that the first-order natural frequency of the supporting structure is optimized from 4.88 Hz to 10.02 Hz, while the incremental weight of the reinforcement structure is kept as low as 6.4 t.