Everything about Shock Absorber totally explained
A
shock absorber in common parlance (or
damper in technical use) is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or
dampen a sudden
shock impulse and dissipate
kinetic energy. It is analogous to a
resistor in an electric
RLC circuit.
Explanation
Shock absorbers must absorb or dissipate energy. One design consideration, when designing or choosing a shock absorber is where that energy will go. In most
dashpots, energy is converted to heat inside the viscous fluid. In
hydraulic cylinders, the hydraulic
fluid will heat up, while in air cylinders, the hot air is usually exhausted to the atmosphere. In other types of dashpots, such as
electromagnetic ones, the dissipated energy can be stored and used later.
Description
Pneumatic and hydraulic shock absorbers commonly take the form of a cylinder with a sliding
piston inside. The cylinder is filled with a fluid (such as hydraulic fluid) or air. This fluid filled piston/cylinder combination is a
dashpot.
Applications
Shock absorbers are an important part of
automobile and
motorcycle suspensions,
aircraft landing gear, and the supports for many industrial
machines. Large shock absorbers have also been used in
structural engineering to reduce the susceptibility of structures to
earthquake damage and
resonance.
Vehicles suspension
In a vehicle, it reduces the effect of traveling over rough ground, leading to improved
ride quality. Without shock absorbers, the vehicle would have a bouncing ride, as energy is stored in the spring and then released to the vehicle, possibly exceeding the allowed range of
suspension movement. Control of excessive suspension movement without shock absorption requires stiffer (higher rate) springs, which would in turn give a harsh ride. Shock absorbers allow the use of soft (lower rate) springs while controlling the rate of suspension movement in response to bumps. They also, along with
hysteresis in the tire itself, damp the motion of the
unsprung weight up and down on the springiness of the tire. Since the tire isn't as soft as the springs, effective wheel bounce damping may require stiffer shocks than would be ideal for the vehicle motion alone.
Spring-based shock absorbers commonly use
coil springs or
leaf springs, though
torsion bars can be used in
torsional shocks as well. Ideal springs alone, however, are not shock absorbers as springs only store and don't dissipate or absorb energy. Vehicles typically employ both springs or torsion bars as well as hydraulic shock absorbers. In this combination, "shock absorber" is reserved specifically for the hydraulic piston that absorbs and dissipates vibration.
Structures
Applied to a structure such as a
building or
bridge it may be part of a
seismic retrofit or as part of new,
earthquake resistant construction. In this application it allows yet restrains motion and absorbs
resonant energy, which can cause excessive motion and eventual
structural failure.
Types of shock absorbers
There are several commonly-used approaches to shock absorption:
- Hysteresis (hysteresis is like a "memory" of the material, if you press down rubber disks, they tend to back to it's normal uncompressed state as the pression of fingers is relieved) of structural material, for example the compression of rubber disks, stretching of rubber bands and cords, bending of steel springs, or twisting of torsion bars. Hysteresis is the tendency for otherwise elastic materials to rebound with less force than was required to deform them. Simple vehicles with no separate shock absorbers are damped, to some extent, by the hysteresis of their springs and frames.
Dry friction as used in wheel brakes, by using disks (classically made of leather) at the pivot of a lever, with friction forced by springs. Used in early automobiles such as the Ford Model T, up through some British cars of the 1940s. Although now considered obsolete, an advantage of this system is its mechanical simplicity; the degree of damping can be easily adjusted by tightening or loosening the screw clamping the disks, and it can be easily rebuilt with simple hand tools. A disadvantage is that the damping force tends not to increase with the speed of the vertical motion.
Solid state, tapered chain shock absorbers, using one or more tapered, axial alignment(s) of granular spheres, typically made of metals such as nitinol, in a casing. (External Link
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Fluid friction, for example the flow of fluid through a narrow orifice (hydraulics), constitute the vast majority of automotive shock absorbers. An advantage of this type is that using special internal valving the absorber may be made relatively soft to compression (allowing a soft response to a bump) and relatively stiff to extension, controlling "jounce", which is the vehicle response to energy stored in the springs; similarly, a series of valves controlled by springs can change the degree of stiffness according to the velocity of the impact or rebound. Specialized shock absorbers for racing purposes may allow the front end of a dragster to rise with minimal resistance under acceleration, then strongly resist letting it settle, thereby maintaining a desirable rearward weight distribution for enhanced traction. Some shock absorbers allow tuning of the ride via control of the valve by a manual adjustment provided at the shock absorber. In more expensive vehicles the valves may be remotely adjustable, offering the driver control of the ride at will while the vehicle is operated. The ultimate control is provided by dynamic valve control via computer in response to sensors, giving both a smooth ride and a firm suspension when needed. Many shock absorbers contain compressed nitrogen, to reduce the tendency for the oil to foam under heavy use. Foaming temporarily reduces the damping ability of the unit. In very heavy duty units used for racing and/or off-road use, there may even be a secondary cylinder connected to the shock absorber to act as a reservoir for the oil and pressurized gas. Another variation is the Magneto rheological damper which changes its fluid characteristics through an electromagnet.
Compression of a gas, for example pneumatic shock absorbers, which can act like springs as the air pressure is building to resist the force on it. Once the air pressure reaches the necessary maximum, air dashpots will act like hydraulic dashpots. In aircraft landing gear air dashpots may be combined with hydraulic damping to reduce bounce. Such struts are called oleo struts (combining oil and air) (External Link).
Magnetic effects. Eddy current dampers are dashpots that are constructed out of a large magnet inside of a non-magnetic, electrically conductive tube.
Inertial resistance to acceleration, for example prior to 1966 (External Link) the Citroën 2CV had shock absorbers that damp wheel bounce with no external moving parts. These consisted of a spring-mounted 3.5 kg (7.75 lb) iron weight inside a vertical cylinder (External Link) and are similar to, yet much smaller than versions of the tuned mass dampers used on tall buildings
Composite hydropneumatic devices which combine in a single device spring action, shock absorption, and often also ride-height control, as in some models of the Citroën automobile.
Conventional shock absorbers combined with composite pneumatic springs with which allow ride height adjustment or even ride height control, seen in some large trucks and luxury sedans such as certain Lincoln and most Land Rover automobiles. Ride height control is especially desirable in highway vehicles intended for occasional rough road use, as a means of improving handling and reducing aerodynamic drag by lowering the vehicle when operating on improved high speed roads.
The effect of a shock absorber at high (sound) frequencies is usually limited by using a compressible gas as the working fluid and/or mounting it with rubber bushings.Further Information
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