Vibration Control

Vibration Control

Even a slight amount of vibration control has a significant impact on enhanced engine performance, fuel economy and worker safety. Controlling these movements is essential as it significantly reduces noise pollution and eliminates extraneous wear on mechanical components. While engineers in automotive, electronics, heating and cooling, transportation, metallurgical, machine building and many other industries work to design products in which vibration is controlled by the original device, some vibration may be inherent in the process itself, prohibiting complete eradication of movement. In these cases vibration absorbers are used to provide further energy absorption and thus increase productivity and product longevity. Products such as rubber pads, shock absorbers, wraps, rubber bumpers, cushions, bushings and shock mounts all serve to augment shock reduction systems. While these products do not always eliminate all vibration, they significantly slow down and reduce the intensity of movements.

The process of controlling vibration can be either active or passive. Active mechanisms have sensors which detect motion and actuators and controllers in order to cancel it out. Passive vibration control is perhaps more popular as these devices are often much simpler and involve less upkeep. Devices in this category absorb vibrations before they can impact other components. While several different techniques can be used to accomplish this, the use of specialized material padding and hydraulic springs is most common in industrial settings. The hydraulic springs utilize a spring or piston that is housed by a cylinder containing hydraulic fluids, most often water or oil based. Motion is absorbed by the spring which compresses the fluid thereby transferring the energy. The fluids are designed not only to absorb the energy, but to convert it to heat which dissipates through the outer cylinder. Pads and mounts also use specially designed materials. Extruded rubber, elastomeric and composite materials are popular means of vibration control as they can be formulated to meet the proper hysteretic, chemical resistant and heat resistant needs of a given application. The elastic deformation properties of these materials, as well as other foams and textiles, allows them to act as a cushion which absorbs a shock, again diffusing the energy as heat. As manufacturing techniques and the products themselves vary widely, it is important to consider vibration control systems with regards to their specific intended use.