AUTO BUMPER EMPLOYS SILICONE LIQUID SPRINGS TO ABSORB SHOCK

A REDUCTION IN THE SHOCK AND DAMAGE OF A COLLISION AT MODERATE SPEEDS IS PREDICTED WITH A NEW AUTOMOBILE-BUMPER SHOCK MOUNT DEVELOPED BY MENASCO MFG. CO., BURBANK, CALIFORNIA. TESTS BY AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH FIRM SHOW THAT THE LATE-MODEL AUTOMOBILES EQUIPPED WITH THE MENASCO SHOCK MOUNTS EXPERIENCE MORE THAN AN 80 PERCENT REDUCTION IN SHOCK AND DAMAGE FROM COLLISIONS AT 30 MPH. NO MORE DAMAGE IS EXPERIENCED THAN WOULD NORMALLY OCCUR IN A 5-MPH COLLISION. THE BUMPER SYSTEM CONSISTS OF FOUR TELESCOPING SHOCK ISOLATORS OR LIQUID SPRINGS THAT ARE MOUNTED IN A W-PATTERN BETWEEN THE CAR FRAME AND A CONVENTIONAL BUMPER ELEMENT. THE ISOLATOR ELEMENTS DISSIPATE THE IMPACT ENERGY BY MAKING USE OF THE VISCO-ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF CERTAIN NEWLY DEVELOPED SILICONE ELASTOMERS AT EXTREMELY HIGH PRESSURES. AS THE ISOLATOR SHORTENS UNDER THE IMPACT LOAD, THE ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL INSIDE IS SIMULTANEOUSLY REDUCED IN VOLUME AND FORCED THROUGH SMALL ORIFICES AND PASSAGES. THIS VOLUME- REDUCTION PHENOMENON PRODUCES THE EQUIVALENT EFFECT OF A POWERFUL MECHANICAL SPRING, WHILE THE MATERIAL FLOW CAUSES A DAMPING ACTION, AS THOUGH THE UNIT WERE A HYDRAULIC DASHPOT. THESE ISOLATOR ELEMENTS OFFER THE FUNCTIONAL ADVANTAGES OF A HYDRAULIC DAMPER-TYPE ISOLATOR, BUT WITHOUT THEIR INHERENT FLUID-LEAKAGE PROBLEMS. A FURTHER APPLICATION OF THE VISCO- ELASTIC PRINCIPLE MIGHT BE TO GUARDRAILS ON FREEWAYS AND ABUTMENT BARRIERS.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 40, No 15, PP 91, 1 PHOT
• Publication Date: 1969-7-28

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Product Engineering
  • Publisher: McGraw-Hill, Incorporated

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Abutments; Automobiles; Bumpers; Dampers; Elastomers; Guardrails; Impacts; Shock resistance; Silicones; Viscoelasticity
• Uncontrolled Terms: Attenuation
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223064
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 12 1970 12:00AM