Analysis of a test rig drive for air springs

To determine the life of air springs, a new test rig enabling dynamic sinusoidal loading of air springs has been developed. The test rig enables the adjustment of air spring deformation and load frequency, as well as the adjustment of its geometry to different sizes of air springs. Four air springs are tested simultaneously. Between the phases of loading the air spring some time delay occurs, which is why the work that the air spring returns into the drive system during its unloading is consumed as well. The concept of the test rig and the possibilities of adjustments are presented. In order to carry out a dynamic analysis of the drive and determine the load on test rig elements, a computer program has been developed that enables the calculation of the forces, torques, and power of the driving motor for different sizes of air springs and various testing conditions. The algorithms that the program is based on and the characteristic results of the calculations are presented. Also, a comparison of energy consumption for the test of one, two, and four air springs is shown. The advantages of the new test rig as compared to other test rigs are discussed, too.