Random vibration analysis and strength assessment of a vehicle-mounted console considering nonlinear characteristics of the isolation system

Abstract
Vehicle-mounted consoles are vulnerable to random vibration excitations from road roughness, which often cause fatigue or functional failure. While spring isolators are critical for vibration mitigation, their nonlinear characteristics are typically neglected in conventional dynamic analysis. To address this gap, this paper proposes a random vibration analysis model that explicitly incorporates the nonlinear behaviors of a spring isolation system, including experimentally identified stiffness nonlinearity and hysteresis energy dissipation. Static compression tests and finite element simulations are first performed on the isolator, revealing a maximum relative error of less than 8.5% in load–displacement response and confirming nonlinear stiffening with increasing compression. Using the validated isolator model, modal and random vibration analyses of the full console are conducted under three-axis power spectral density inputs. Quantitative results show that the maximum 1σ stresses in the transverse, longitudinal, and vertical directions are 108.1 MPa, 87.7 MPa, and 16.8 MPa, respectively, all significantly below the material yield strength. Corresponding strength margins are 1.17, 1.67, and 12.98, thereby satisfying design requirements. Compared to existing studies, the novelty of this work lies in the systematic integration of nonlinear isolator characterization into full-console stochastic vibration analysis, providing an effective engineering tool for vibration-resistant design and reliability assessment of vehicle-mounted electronic equipment.