Sensor-Based Detection of Characteristics of Rubber Springs

Knowledge of experimentally obtained values of elastic deformations of rubber springs induced by applied compressive forces of known magnitudes is essential for the selection of rubber springs with optimal properties, which are used to dampen vibrations transmitted to the supporting parts of vibrating machines. This paper deals with the laboratory measurement of the characteristics of rubber springs using two types of sensors which sense the instantaneous value of the compressive force acting on the compressed spring. When using a strain tensometric force sensor, the magnitude of the measured pressure forces was evaluated by the DeweSoft DS-NET system, which was connected to an ethernet LAN, so the measured data could be processed, analysed and stored by any computer on the network. The characteristics of eight types of rubber springs were measured in two ways on laboratory equipment, and the spring stiffnesses were calculated from the measured data. Experiments have shown that the actual stiffnesses of rubber springs are lower compared to the values stated by the manufacturer, in the least favourable case, by 33.6%. It has been shown by measurements that at the beginning of the loading of the rubber spring, its compression is gradual, and the stiffness increases slowly, which is defined as the progressivity of the spring.