A comparative study of vehicle absorbers

Abstract

The paper presents the tests of vehicle shock absorbers which comprise the absorbers installed in a car (suspension tests) and removed from a vehicle (stand testing). It also compares the test results of the front and rear axle suspension in a passenger vehicle, conducted on a diagnostic line, as well as the absorbers taken out of the vehicle and tested on the stand with MTS-manufactured components. The diagnostic line comprises two test stands. It allowed for employing two methods in order to test absorbers: EUSAMA and THETA. These are the two most common methods of testing vehicle suspension and a particular attention was paid to their advantages and drawbacks. During the tests, three different sets of absorbers were being installed one by one in the vehicle suspension, and then they were being tested on the diagnostic line. Following that, after removing from the vehicle suspension, the absorbers were tested on the test stand with MTS — manufactured components. Based upon the work diagrams, a damping characteristics has been established for each absorber, which allowed for identifying their damping function. The summary of the paper presents the tests conclusions.