Abstract
This paper proposes a simple but accurate method for calculating the vibration properties of an air spring employing a circular tube to produce a damping force. Air springs are very common in rail, automotive, and vibration isolation applications, because they have many advantages over metal springs. Air spring dealt with this study consists of two tanks and a circular tube which connect them. By using the circular tube, the reservoir tank becomes more flexible, and the application range of an air spring extends. However, the vibration prediction is difficult, because the fluid flow in circular tube is very complex. In addition, it has two resonance peaks though mass is one. To solve these problems, we propose the analytical method and theoretical equations that predict vibration properties of an air spring accurately. To validate the utility of theoretical equations, the theoretical values are compared with experimental values. As a result, it has been become clear that the vibration prediction of an air spring is possible if the amplitude is small.
