Development of a thermal model for automotive twin-tube shock absorbers

This paper presents a model to predict the thermal performance of automotive twin-tube shock absorbers simulating a thermal stability test. The objective of this test is to determine the stabilization temperatures of the components of the shock absorber when it is under a multifrequencial test. The shock absorber has been modelled by dividing it into various subsystems that correspond to each working chamber and main components. The conservation of energy equation is applied to each subsystem. These equations are solved to obtain the evolution of the temperatures of the subsystems during the test time. Four shock absorbers based on different designs have been put to the thermal stability test. The temperatures of some components have been measured to compare with the results of the model and to validate it.