Advanced Materials and Devices (AMAD) houses one of the highest-performance shock dynamometers in the West. This test system can apply high forces at high speeds to dynamically test materials, devices, and systems.

The performance and durability of a shock absorber (damper) are characterized using a shock dynamometer (shock dyno). AMAD’s MTS 852 Damper Test System has the force capability of up to 24,500 lbf., 10 inches of travel, and up to 250 in/s operating velocity. The machine has the capability to test dampers ranging from bicycle size to large military vehicle size. We can also add an environmental chamber to the test system to simulate -155℉ through 600℉ and 5% through 95% relative humidity. This system is not limited to damper testing, but flexible materials and dynamic systems can also be tested and characterized.
The MTS 852 Damper Test System is unique because it uses servo-hydraulic valves to control the actuating ram. This means the machine is not limited to only sinusoidal loading. Also, displacement-dependent dampers (or materials and dynamic systems) can be extensively tested because the machine can apply different loading profiles at any displacement.
This test system is capable of the following loading profiles:
Sinusoidal - a pure sine wave profile

Ramp - a pure triangular wave profile. Similar to a sine wave but at the peaks of the cycle, the direction instantly reverses without slowing down velocity.

Sine on Sine - One major frequency and displacement sine wave with a minor frequency and displacement sine wave on top. I.E. as the damper is compressed up and down, a smaller up and down displacement occurs at a different frequency. This profile is often times used during durability testing (up to millions of cycles) to put the most wear on the damper’s components, mainly the seals.

Ramp on Ramp - Similar to the sine on sine loading, but with a ramp profile.
Step - Instantly step from one displacement to another and hold. This is beneficial for testing spring forces and rates from air/gas springs.

Road (random) - We can upload road profiles into our machine to simulate the roughness (or smoothness) of any road.

The video below shows our MTS 852 Damper Test System testing one of our custom-built dampers. It is tested with a sine profile of 5 inches at 1 HZ and 5 Hz, then a sine on sine profile with a major displacement of 5 inches at 1 Hz, a minor displacement of 0.5 inches at 10 Hz (watch the video, it makes more sense!) than a major displacement of 5 inches at 1 Hz, and minor displacement of 0.5 inches at 20 Hz. To find out more about our damper testing services, click here.
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