Seventeen (17) new constant natural frequency mounts can replace forty three (43) current Navy mounts. Constant Natural Frequency (CNF) mounts are currently used in millions of commercial and foreign applications, and improvements are offered in published and on-going research. The CNF concept will be adapted to Navy needs and the commercial market, which will help insure a Navy vendor base. Empirically- and analytically-derived elastomer shaped mounts yielding a stiffness proportional to the load and a constant natural frequency over a weight ratio of 1 to 9 have been demonstrated. An additional benefit of the new mounts is, because they are relatively insensitive to load, the mount installation is greatly simplified. Globe Rubber Works (GRW), an innovative mount manufacturer, experienced in challenging applications of special elastomers for Navy and commercial customers, heads the team of the CNF mount designer; ETC, a company with a long record of performing Navy shock and vibration engineering; and a commercial mount user, to insure that the mount research will be focused on commercial as well as Navy needs. A prototype mount will be prepared and tested to demonstrate how the concept can be used to greatly reduce the number of mounts required by the Navy.
