Telescopic direct-acting-type dampers

As the name suggests, this type of damper is directly

connected between the body and the suspension
member that moves with the road wheel.
It is made either as a separate, bolt-on unit or as an
integral part of a suspension system. Direct-acting
dampers are made in two basic forms: single-tube and
twin-tube.
Single-tube dampers
The operating cylinder is a single tube attached to an
eye or stem for connection to the moving part of the
suspension. The tube is closed at the bottom end by a
cap. A piston slides within the tube, the piston being
fitted with two-way reed valves which cover a series of
holes through which oil can pass. The piston is attached
to a rod that passes through a guide retained in the top of the tube.
The rod is attached to the car body, and rubber
bushes at the attachment points isolate road shocks and
allow for slight angular movement of the damper body.
A rubber seal, held in place by fluid pressure, is
positioned adjacent to the guide to prevent the escape
of fluid. An abutment plate fitted to the piston, limits
the stroke and provides a flat surface for contact with
the top seal when the damper is fully extended. A
tubular shield, attached to the rod member, is fitted to
protect the rod from dirt and stone damage.
A chamber at the base of the damper, sealed by a
free piston, contains a quantity of inert gas. When the
damper is completely filled with thin-type mineral oil,
this gas is in compressed state.
On the bump stroke the inner movement of the
piston displaces oil from the bottom to the top chamber.
The energy needed to pump the oil through the drillings
and deflect the piston valves provides the damping
action. By varying the size of the ‘bump’ and ‘rebound’
orifices, the resistance of each stroke can be altered to
suit the requirement.
For a given downward movement of the piston, the
volume available in the upper chamber for the oil is not
as great as the volume required by the oil, so when this
action occurs the free piston is forced to move slightly
downwards and compresses the gas thus providing
increased damping. The single-tube construction has a number of merits: it
can displace a large quantity of fluid without fluid
aeration or noise and be consistent in service even
when installed at a large angle to the main suspension
movement. Denting of the single working tube by
stones must be avoided, so this is a good reason for
placing the damper at the centre of the helical
suspension spring.
The potential energy stored in a deflected
suspension spring is converted into heat by a damper.
With this design good heat dissipation from the damper
to the air flow is achieved.
On MacPherson suspension systems
, a single-tube, gas-pressurized damper is used
as a main suspension ‘leg’. In this application a more
robust rod guide is fitted to enable it to act as a top
bearing to accommodate steering movement.
Twin-tube damper
An extra tube is used on this type to form both a
reservoir for the fluid and an overflow region to
accommodate fluid resulting from rod displacement
and expansion.
The base valve at the bottom of the working
chamber has three duties to perform. It controls:
1 the outward flow of fluid into the reservoir during
the ‘bump’ movement
2 the fluid return on the ‘rebound’ stroke
3 the bleed leakage for reducing the damper’s
resistance during slow-speed suspension
movements.
The life of a direct-acting damper depends on its fluidsealing
ability, so great attention is paid to the design of
bearing and seal. The hard chrome-surfaced piston rod
works in a sintered iron guide bush or bearing, which is
lubricated by a small amount of fluid forced through the
bearing on each stroke. A multi-lipped rubber seal
placed on the outside of the bush prevents fluid leaking
out of the reservoir.
Baffles in the reservoir prevent violent movement of
the fluid which would otherwise cause aeration
(because air will compress and reduce the damping
effect). Any fluid in an aerated state that is allowed to
enter the working chamber would render the damper
ineffective, so for extra protection a fluid containing
special anti-foam additives are used.
The long stroke of a direct-acting damper allows the
working pressure to be much lower than with a lever type
damper. In view of this, the direct-acting type is
more reliable, and is also cheaper to manufacture.
Although the best performance is achieved when the
dampers are mounted vertically, many suspension
layouts in use today, especially those used to support a
live rear axle, have the dampers set ‘diagonally’ to
improve the stability of the suspension.
Dampers do not offer any resistance to slow-speed
body roll, because the inherent bleed feature in the
damper allows this movement to take place. High-speed
roll is resisted, but manufacturers generally fit a
transverse stabilizer, often called an anti-roll bar, to
control the roll motion.
Although sophisticated equipment is available for
oscillating the dampers to test their operation, a simple
test can be carried out by pressing down with your hand
on the corner of the car. By noting the number of
oscillations made by the spring before the body comes
to rest, the effectiveness of the dampers can be
ascertained.