Thermal model of a twin-tube cavitating shock absorber

Abstract

An analytical method to quantify the damping force of a generic twin-tube shock absorber for an automobile is proposed. Previous models by the present authors have accounted for fluid compressibility, chamber deformation, and fluid cavitation. This paper extends the work to thermal effects which have now been included. The variation in the force due to thermal effects caused by the energy dissipated within the damper is determined and the shock absorber temperature field is calculated. The results from the model are compared with those from simpler models (which do not include thermal effects) and are validated against the results from a real shock absorber. In terms of damping force, a good correlation is obtained, while acceptable results are obtained for the temperature field calculation.