Talk:Shock absorber

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Isn't a helical spring the same as a coil spring?

Also, brakes are references as a kind of shock absorber but should this instead reference a friction shock absorber (as used in early cars, prior to hydraulic shock absorbers).

-Leonard

Can somebody post some examples of rubber type dampers like the ones used in engine mounts. Thank you

Marcin

Contents 1 Shock absorber - misnomer? 2 Definition of Hysteresis 3 cause of contamination in dampers 4 Legend for illustration 5 Other types of shocks? 6 1998 LINCOLN NAVAGATOR 7 energy transmission 8 Q2 Syncopator

[edit] Shock absorber - misnomer?

An analogy is made in the Article between a vehicle's suspension system and an electrical RLC circuit, where the resistive component is the damper's equivalent, and the LC is the spring's.

In both systems it is the latter, i.e. the spring (or LC), not the R (or damper), which absorbs shocks (and temporarily stores the energy.) The damper slowly dissipates that energy.

Take the basic child's go-kart; a shallow wooden box with a wheel nailed to each corner.

Now, to improve the ride you may choose to add either a set of dampers ("shock absorbers") or a set of springs.

It would be rather pointless to ask which one you would choose, so let's ask why would you (inevitably) choose the springs?

Because they would absorb the shocks. The dampers, the so-called "shock absorbers", wouldn't.

It is my contention that "shock absorber" is one of the most misunderstood and mis-used terminologies.

Syncopator 17:47, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Absolutely correct. I am a mechanical engineering student and I hopped over here looking for a specific link. the correct term is not 'schock absorber' its 'Damper' the shock loads are absorbed by the spring, the damper smoothes out oscillations. The correct terminology is mostly used in europe and racing circles but never seems to have caught on here

[edit] Definition of Hysteresis

According to this article, hysteresis is internal friction within springs and the chassis of a vehicle that dampens oscillations, but according to the hysteresis article, it is lag in a system, such as an inductor's reactivity or a piece of iron retaining a magnetic field for some time after leaving the field that originally magnetized it. These seem to be two different uses of hysteresis and I am confused as to whether they are the same or this article is using incorrectly and should be using "internal frictional forces" or something similar. 136.176.8.16 15:59, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] cause of contamination in dampers

what is the contamination?

how will be create? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 221.134.201.89 (talk) 10:06, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

To prevent debris from entering the piston there is a seal which keeps all the bad stuff out. If this seal is ever damaged it might allow debris such as sand or metal particles to enter the cylinder and contaminate the oil. Hacktivist (talk) 20:39, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Legend for illustration

The picture Gas_damper_mov.gif looks like a nice enough picture but it needs a legend explaining what parts A, B, C etc are. Nibios 15:37, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

I've added them to the best of my knowledge. Hacktivist (talk) 03:45, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Other types of shocks?

The Trophy Truck article mentions coil-over, internal and external bypass shocks. Can someone explain these three types of shocks?--68.188.157.172 (talk) 16:51, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] 1998 LINCOLN NAVAGATOR

i AM LOOKING FOR USED AIR SHOCK ABSORBERS OR KNOWLEDGE TO CHANGE AIR BAG  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.229.129.134 (talk) 14:09, 25 May 2008 (UTC) 

[edit] energy transmission

A shock absorber is a telescopic device that is easily compressed and also resists extention. When a vehicle hits a bump, let's say, and the spring and shock compress, the spring would like to expand again. But this is undesirable as it would expand into the chassis or body of the vehicle thus transmitting the "bump" to the occupants. Now if a spring could compress and not expand or rebound than the ride would improve. Now,if you think about it, the spring has to expand or the vehichle would just get lower every time a bump was met. So the shock absorber lets the spring expand over time. The shock can't really apply enough resistance to ratchet the car or truck or airplane down and has to lose the battle. But what it does is distribute all of the vibration smoothly through the suspension so no abrupt movement is felt. There's an old trick that I think will illustrate the point. Matches used to be availabe in a wooden version and came in a box that was maybe 1.5X 2.0 inches on a side and about .5 inches thick. there was a slide tray that you pulled out to get the matches. Now somebody would ask: can you drop the match box on its end and not have it fall over? The trick was to open the slide tray and when you dropped the box, the energy was absorbed by the tray closing slightly. So the box would land on it's end and not fall over. Obviously, if you kept dropping the match box, you would eventually close it. And then there would be no more shock absorbtion. So the spring wins out over the long run. Now you have it in a nutshell. Think of it that way and you will never be confused.69.122.62.231 (talk) 23:18, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Q2 Syncopator

Does a damper work on both directions of travel? Am I wrong when I say that, in its basic configuration, a shock absorber only resists extension? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.122.62.231 (talk) 18:37, 10 June 2008 (UTC)