Dynamic testing of shock absorbers under non-sinusoidal conditions

This paper deals with the dynamic characterization of an automotive shock absorber, the continuation of an earlier work [1]. The objective of this ongoing research is to develop a testing and analysis methodology for obtaining dynamic properties of automotive shock absorbers for use in CAE-NVH low-to-mid-frequency chassis models. Stepped sine sweep excitation is currently used in industry to obtain shock absorber parameters along with their frequency and amplitude dependence. Sine-on-sine testing, which involves excitation using two different sine waves, has been done in this study to understand the effects of the presence of multiple sine waves on the estimated dynamic properties. In an effort to obtain all frequency dependent parameters simultaneously, different types of broadband random excitation have also been studied. Results are compared with stepped sine sweep tests. Additionally, actual road data measured on different road profiles have been used as input excitation to obtain the shock absorber parameters for broad frequency bands under realistic amplitude and frequency conditions. These results are compared with both simulated random excitation and stepped sine sweep test results