Hydromechanical Analysis of Fluid-Elastomeric Lag Dampers Including Subzero Temperatures

摘要

This investigation examined the behavior of a snubber-type fluid-elastomeric (FE) lag damper under dynamic load applications at different operating temperatures ranging from -30 to +50 ℃. Unlike purely elastomeric lag dampers, FE dampers provide damping and stiffness that do not diminish with excitation amplitude. Using the complex modulus method, the lag mode damping showed approximately 20 and 40% variation at -30 and +50 ℃, respectively, as the amplitude was increased from 0.762 to 5.33 mm, while the stiffness showed less than 10% variation over the same excitation range for a single temperature. However, damper performance is substantially affected by ambient operating temperature conditions. The lag mode damping showed as much as a 300% reduction as the temperature was increased from -30 to +50 ℃, while the stiffness was reduced by as much as 50% over that temperature range.