In the pursuit of creating a quieter living environment, increasingly higher standards are being set in the segment of household refrigeration appliances regarding the permissible levels of vibrations and noise. A standard cooling appliance is exposed to numerous sources of excitation, with the compressor being the most prominent one. Noise and vibrations that originate from the compressor are transmitted to the user through structural and acoustic transfer paths. Reduction of vibration and noise transmission is achieved through the use of vibroisolations that connect the compressor to the remaining parts of the cooling appliance. An approach for evaluating the adequacy of vibroisolations is based on the methods of transfer path analysis. The method aims to characterize the excitation source, which cannot be directly experimentally or numerically characterized due to its complexity. The method predicts a known set of forces that indirectly replicate the response of the structure, which is otherwise a result of active excitation caused by the compressor operation. The set of forces is then used to predict the response of an assembly with an identical excitation source and virtually modified vibration isolation elements. Based on the evaluation of the response using the virtually modified vibration isolation elements, a design of a new concept of vibration isolators is developed, allowing for effective reduction of vibration and noise transmission from the compressor to the remaining parts of the cooling appliance.
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