DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF

SHOCK ABSORBER
1
Arumugam.C, 2Silambarasan.S, 3Vignesh.H, 4Vignesh.R
5
Vikram.S, 6Gnanasekaran.M, 7Suresh.T
1
Head of the Department,2,3,4,5UG students, 6,7Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Sri Balaji Chockalingam Engineering College, Arni-632317, Tamil Nadu, India
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Abstract : Shock absorbers are a critical part of a suspension system, connecting the vehicle to its wheels. The need for
dampers arises because of the roll and pitches associated with vehicle manoeuvring, and from the roughness of roads. In the mid
nineteenth century, road quality was generally very poor. The rapidly increasing power available from the internal combustion
engine made higher speeds routine; this, plus the technical aptitude of the vehicle and component designers, coupled with a
general commercial mood favoring development and change, provided an environment that led to invention and innovation of
shock absorbers.The objective of this project is to study the causes of the bouncing problem at the vehicle and to compare the
failure parts performance in terms of its strength. In this work initially designing the Hero bike shock absorber with design data
using Creo 3.0 and to test the performance of designed shock absorber includes structural and model analysis using ANSYS
Workbench.

Key words: Shock Absorber,Static Structural, Creo 3.0, ANSYS Workbench

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I.INTRODUCTION
A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic
energy. Pneumatic and hydraulic shock absorbers commonly take the form of a cylinder with a sliding piston inside. The cylinder is
filled with a fluid(such as hydraulic fluid) or air. This fluid-filled piston/cylinder combination is a dashpot. The shock absorbers
duty is to absorb or dissipate energy. These are an important part of automobile suspension, aircraft landing gear, and the supports
for many industrial machines Large shock absorbers have also been used in structural engineering to reduce susceptibilityof
structures to earthquake damage and resonance. A transverse mounted shock absorber, called a yaw damper, helps keep railcars
from swaying excessively from side to side and are important in commuter railroads and rapid transit systems because they prevent
railcars from damage station platforms.
In a vehicle, it reduces the effect of travelling over rough ground, leading to improved ride quality, and increase comfort
due to substantially reduced amplitude of distrubances. Without shock absorbers, the vehicle possibly exceeding the allowed range
of suspension movement without shock absorption requires stiffer (higher rate) springs, which would in turn give a harsh ride.
Shock absorbers allow the use of soft (lower rate) springs while controlling the rate of suspension movements in response to
bumps. Damp the motion of the upspring weight up and down on the springiness of the tire, since the tire is not as soft as the
springs, effective wheel bounce damping may require stiffer shocked than would be ideal for the vehicle motion alone. Spring-
based shock absorbers commonly use coil springs or leaf springs, though torsion bars can be used in tensional shocks as well. Ideal
springs alone, however, are not shock absorbers as springs only store and do not dissipiate or absorb energy. Vehicles typically
employ springs and torsion bars as well as hydraulic shock absorbers.

II.FUNCTIONS ABSORBERS IN AUTOMOBILE OF SHOCK:

In common with carriages and railway locomotives, most early motor vehicles used leaf springs. One of the features of
these springs was that the friction between the leaves offered a degree of damping and in a 1912 review of vehicle suspension the
lack of this characteristic in helical springs was the reason it was "impossible" to use them as main springs. However the amount of
damping provided by leaf spring friction was limited and variable according to the conditions of the springs, and whether wet or
dry .It also operated in both directions. Motorcycle front suspension adopted coil sprung Druid forks from about 1906, and similar
designs later added rotary friction dampers, which damped both ways - but they were adjustable (e.g. 1924Webb forks).
These friction disk shock absorbers were also fitted to many cars. One of the problems with motor cars was the large
variation in sprung weight between lightly loaded and fully loaded, especially for the rear springs. When heavily loaded the springs
could bottom out, and apart from fitting rubber 'bump stops', there were attempts to use heavy main springs with auxiliary springs
to smooth the ride when lightly loaded, which were often called 'shock absorbers'. Realising that the spring and vehicle
combination bounced with a characteristic frequency, these auxiliary springs were designed with a different period, but were not a
solution to the problem that the spring rebound after striking a bump could throw you out of your seat. What was called for was
damping that operated on the rebound.
DIFFERENT METODS OF SHOCK ABSORB

There are a number of different methods of converting an impact /collision into relatively smooth cushioned contact.
• Metal Spring
• Rubber Buffer
• Hydraulic Dashpot
• Collapsing safety Shock Absorbers
• Pneumatic Cylinders
• Self compensating Hydraulic

1. METAL SPRINGS
Simply locating metal springs to absorb the impact loads are a low cost method of reducing the collision speed and
reducing the shock loading. They are able to operate in very arduous conditions under a wide range of temperatures. These devices
have high stopping forces at end of stroke. Metal springs store energy rather than dissipating it. If metal sprint type shock absorbers
are used then measures should be provided to limit Oscillations. Metal springs are often used with viscous dampers.There are a
number of different types of metal springs including helical springs, bevel washers(cone-springs), leaf springs, ring springs, mesh
springs etc etc. Each spring type has its own operating characteristics.

2. ELASTOMATIC SHOCK OBSERVERS

These are low cost options for reducing the collision speed and reducing the shock loading and providing system damping.
They are conveniently moulded to suitable shapes. These devices have high stopping forces at end of stroke with significant
internal damping. Elastomeric dampers are very widely used because of the associated advantages of low cost and mouldability
together with performance benefits. The inherent damping of elastomers is useful in preventing excessive vibration amplitude at
resonance – much reduced compared to metal springs. However elastomeric based shock absorbers are limited in being affected by
high and low temperatures. And are subject to chemical attack. Silicone rubber is able to provide reasonable mechanical properties
between temperatures of -50O to +180O deg. C- most other elastomer has inferior temperature tolerance.

3. HYDRAULIC DASHPOT
This type of shock absorber is based on a simple hydraulic cylinder. As the piston rod is moved hydraulic fluid is forced
through an orifice which restricts flow and consequently provides a controlled resistance to movement of the piston rod. With only
one metering orifice the moving load is abruptly slowed down at the start of the stroke. The brakingforce rises to a very high peak
at the start of the stroke and then falls away rapidly. On completion of the stroke the system is stable - the energy being dissipated
in the hydraulic fluid as heat. This type of shock absorbers are provided with Springs sufficient to return the actuator to its initial
position after the impacting load is removed.

4. COLLAPSING SAFETY SHOCK ABSORBERS

These are single use units which are generally specially designed for specific duties. They are designed such that at
impact they collapse and the impact energy is absorbed as the materials distort in their inelastic/yield range. They therefore are
more compact compared to devices based on deflections within their elastic range.

5. AIR (PNEUMATIC) SPRING

These devices use air as the resilient medium. Air has a high energy storage capacity compared to metal or elastomer
materials. For duties with high loads and deflections the air spring is generally far more compact that the equivalent metal or
elastomer device. Due to the compressibility of air these have a sharply rising force characteristic towards the end of the stroke. The
majority of the energy is absorbed near the end of the stroke.The force on an air cylinder buffer is determined by the relation
PVn=constant. Air springs require more maintenance than meal or elastomer based springs and the temperature range is restricted
compared to metal springs.

6. SELF COMPENSATING HYDRAULIC

These devices are similar to the hydraulic dashpot type except that a number of orifices are provided allowing different
degrees of restriction throughout the stroke. These devices are engineered to bring the moving load is smoothly and gently to rest
by a constant resisting force throughout the entire shock absorber stroke. The load is decelerated with the lowest possible force in
the shortest possible time eliminating damaging force peaks and shock damage to machines and equipment. These type of shock
absorbers are provided with springs sufficient to return the actuator to its initial position after the impacting load is removed. Fluid
friction, for example the flow of fluid through a narrow orifice (hydraulics), constitutes the vast majority of automotive shock
absorbers.
III. LITERATURE SURVEY
A.Chinnamahammad bhasha, N. Vijay rami reddy, B. Rajnaveen, worked on suspension system also designed and a 3D
model is created using CATIA V5 R21. They used spring steel, phosphor bronze, berilium copper and titanium alloy as spring
material. They considered weight of bike with double riding. Finally comparison is done for different materials to verify best
material for spring in Shock absorber. Modeling is done in CATIA and analysis is done in ANSYS. Mr. Sudarshan Martande1, Mr.
Y. N. Jangale etc all, focused on new correlated methodologies that will allow engineers to design components of Shock Absorbers.
Thus this paper focuses on to develop new correlated methodologies that will allow engineers to design components of Shock
Absorbers by using FEM based tools. Syambabu Nutalapati , . In this project a shock absorber is designed and a 3D model is
created using CATIA. Structural and modal analysis are done on the shock absorber by varying material for Spring Steel and
Molybdenum. Pinjarla Poornamohan, Lakshmana Kishore , In their project a shock absorber is designed and a 3D model is created
using Pro/Engineer. Thickness of spring is also varied and the material is spring steel and beryllium copper. Structural analysis is
done to verify the displacement at number of nodes at different frequencies using Ansys. Rahul Tekade, Chinmay Patil , has carried
Structural and Modal Analysis of Shock Absorber of Vehicle to sustain more vibrations at all conditions. Johnson*, Davis Jose,
Anthony Tony, were designed and analysed a shock absorber manufactured with different materials which is working under
different load and road conditions. Vijay Barethiye, G. Pohit, A. Mitra , an experiment was conducted to obtain dynamic
characteristics of a shock absorber. The results were compared both linear and hysteresis behavior more accurately. W.Shivaraj
Singh, N.Srilatha , were reviewed all the literature available on analysis of shock absorber working under different loads.
Xiao-HongLongab, Yong-TaoMaa etc all, were analysed two different absorbers with two different materials under
shock loads. Most damaging areas also identified for both set of absorbers of bridge structure. MarouaneBenaziz, SamuelNacivet
etc.al , were conducted experimentation to identify noise behavior and sensitivity of a shock absorber Dheeman Bhuyan,
Kaushik Kumar, were used PTC CREO 2.0 for designing of a twin tube shock absorber and using ANSYS Workbench 15.0 the
results were shown at different velocities of the fluid in absorber. Tongyi Xu, Ottawa, Canada, In this study, a TTM-based vibration
absorber with variable moment of inertia (TTM-VMI) is proposed. Dheeman Bhuyan, Kaushik Kumar , CFD Analysis has been
done on piston valve in the suspension system and design was created by using CREO 2. PiotrCzop, Damian S Ławik , Used A
Special Servo- Hydraulic Tester To Evaluate The Vibration Levels With In A Shock Absorber.
IV. MATERIALS USED
The most commonly used materials for Shock Absorber of Vehicles are steel. We are used different materials to compare
aluminium alloy (Absorber Material) and Copper Alloy (Spring Material)n due to improving strength and quality of Shock
Absorber.
Used materials are,
 Steel
 Stainless Steel
 Titanium Alloy
 Aluminium Alloy
 Copper Alloy

V. MATERIAL PROPERTIES

TABLE 1:Stainless Steel Material Properties

SI.NO PROPERTIES VALUE

1. Young’s 1.93E+5
Modulus(Mpa)

2. Poisson’s ratio 0.3

3. Density(Kg/m3) 7750

TABLE 2: Structural Steel Material Properties

SI.NO PROPERTIES VALUE

1. Young’s 2E+5
Modulus(Mpa)

2. Poisson’s ratio 0.3

3. Density(Kg/m3) 7850
 TABLE 3: Copper Alloy Material Properties

SI.NO PROPERTIES VALUE

1. Young’s 1.1E+5
Modulus(Mpa)

2. Poisson’s ratio 0.34

3. Density(Kg/m3) 8300

TABLE 4: Aluminium Alloy Matertial Properties

SI.NO PROPERTIES VALUE

1. Young’s 7.1E+5
Modulus(Mpa)
2.
Poisson’s ratio 0.33
3.
Density(Kg/ m3) 2770

TABLE 5: Titanium Alloy Material Properties

SI.NO PROPERTIES VALUE

1. Young’s 9.6E+5
Modulus(Mpa)

2. Poisson’s ratio 0.36

3. Density(Kg/m3) 4620

VI. SHOCK ABSORBER PARTS DESIGN DATA

TOP ROD WITH DESIGN DATA IN MM PISTON ROD WITH DESIGN DATA IN MM
 SPRING WITH DESIGN DATA IN MM SCREW WITH DESIGN DATA IN MM

IMPOERTED SHOCK ABSORBER ASSEMBLY

VII. APPLYING BOUNDARY CONDITION(LOAD)

Applying boundary conditions and loads Since the generated Shock absorber in contact and suspension nature, then force
is applied to the both sides including one side passengers load and other side sudden damping load, And support were applied to
both sides. Constrains are given according to FEA. Later a load of 1000 N to 2000N has been taken as a passengers load and
1000N to 20000N damping load to Shock absorber as boundary conditions.

VIII.ANALYSIS OF DIFFEREBT ABSORBER MATERIAL AND SPRING MATERIAL

OBSERVATION OF TOTAL DEFORMATION
Case 1: Steel(Absorber Material) & Steel (Spring Material)
Case 2: Stainless Steel(Absorber Material) & Steel (Spring Material)

Case 3: Steel (Absorber Material) & Copper Alloy (Spring Matertial)

Case 4: Stainless Steel(Absorber Material) &

Titanium alloy(Spring Material)
 Case 5: Aluminium Alloy(Absorber Material) & Copper Alloy(Spring Material)

OBSERVATION OF VON MISSES STRESS

Case1 : Steel(Absorber Material) & Steel (Spring Material)

Case 2: Stainless Steel(Absorber Material) and Steel(S[ring Material)

Case 3: Steel (Absorber Material) &
Copper Alloy (Spring Material)

Case 4: Stainless Steel (Absorber Material) &

Titanium Alloy (Spring Material)

Case 5: Aluminium Alloy (Absorber Material) &

Copper Alloy (Spring Material)
OBSERVATIONS ON VON-MISSES STRESSES
Case 1: Steel (Absorber Material) & Steel (Spring Material).

Case 2: Stainless Steel (Absorber Material) &

Steel (Spring Material)

Case 3: Steel (Absorber Material) &

Copper Alloy (Spring Material)
 Case 4: Stainless steel (Absorber Material) &
Titanium Alloy (Spring Material)

Case 5: Aluminium Alloy (Absorber Material) &

Copper Alloy (Spring Material)

IX. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In this work, I selected Aluminium Alloy, Steel and Stainless Steel materials for shock absorber components other
than spring and for the spring material for Static structural analysis Copper Alloy, Titanium Alloy and Spring Steel.Variations of
different parameters such as Total deformation, Von-misses Strain and Von-misses Stresses has been observed with different
materials combination as mentioned above at standard design load condition 1962N (200Kg).
X. TABULATION
VARAIATION OF TOTAL DEFORMATION

COMPONENT SPRING MATERIAL MIN MAX

MATERIAL
Steel Steel 0 0.011569
Stainless Steel Steel 0 0.011981
Steel Copper Alloy 0 0.01157
Stainless steel Titanium Alloy 0 0.011981
Aluminium Alloy Copper Alloy 0 0.032533

VARIATION OF VON MISSES STRAIN

COMPOMNENT
MATERIAL SPRING MATERIAL MIN MAX
Steel Steel 9.487E-9 0.00019107
Stainless Steel Steel 9.838E-9 0.00019726
Steel Copper Alloy 9.434E-9 0.00019108
Stainless Steel Titanium Alloy 9.767E-9 0.00019728
Aluminium Alloy Copper Alloy 2.674E-9 0.00053214

VARIATION OF VON MISSES STRAIN

COMPONENT
MATERIAL SPRING MATERIAL MIN MAX
Steel Steel 0.0015054 37.62
Stainless Steel Steel 0.0015104 37.49
Steel Copper Alloy 0.0017027 37.63
Stainless Steel Titanium Alloy 0.0017722 37.49
Aluminium Alloy Copper Alloy 0.0015818 37.20

XI. CONCLUSION
In this project we have designed a shock absorber used in a bike. We have modeled the shock absorber by using 3D
parametric software Creo. To validate the strength of our design, we have done structural analysis on the Shock absorber. We
have done analysis by component material Aluminium Alloy & spring material Copper Alloy. By comparing the results for
present design and modified design, the stress and displacement values are less for modified design. So we can conclude that as
per our analysis using component material Aluminium Alloy & copper Alloy for spring is best and also our modified design is
safe.

XII. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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