Abstract
The method of rubber damper design outlined in this paper has been developed owing to the breakdown on a number of occasions of the two-mass system method hitherto widely used.
This new method, which is based on the study of the behaviour of the engine as a whole in conjunction with the damper, splits up the functioning of a damper into two parts, one conveniently called the detuning effect, and the other, the absorption effect. The first relies on the powerful tuning curve method, already described in the Proceedings, and the other is based on numerous painstaking trials and physical tests on rubber samples and on full-scale dampers.
The method outlined shows that there is no rigid relationship between the frequencies of the engine and damper, and that the free end of the engine crankshaft is not the only place where a successful damper can be fitted.
In addition to giving some particulars about physical and other properties of rubber, it also shows how to calculate the heat dissipated by dampers.
Practical support for the theory is provided by accounts of vibration trials on three widely different types of engines with dampers fitted to them. In all cases, comparison of calculated and experimental amplitudes is given. The good agreement between the two cannot escape attention and shows that the method outlined can be used with confidence.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.