Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-022-00832-y

RESEARCH PAPER

Determining Dynamic Properties of Elastomer‑Dampers by Means of

Impact Testing
T. Rapp1 · G. Jacobs1 · J. Berroth1 · J. Guenther1

Received: 27 July 2021 / Accepted: 21 February 2022 / Published online: 14 March 2022
© The Author(s) 2022

Abstract
Background Damping elements made of elastomer materials are used in almost every mechanical system to prevent damage
to components caused by impact-like excitations and the resulting high-frequency, large-amplitude oscillations. The dynam-
ics of these operating conditions exceed the performance limits of conventional experimental testing methods, impeding
validated predictions of the damper’s transmission behaviour.
Objective A method is proposed to directly investigate the influence of impacts on the transmission behaviour of elastomeric
dampers by impact testing.
Methods Torsional-loaded elastomer dampers were experimentally investigated using a drop tower. During the experiment,
a mass is brought into impact contact with a lever arm connected to the tested coupling. Measurements on resulting torsional
oscillations and a comparison of the measurement results with a simple analytical model of the system allow for determining
the coupling parameters stiffness and damping ratio.
Results The characteristic parameters stiffness and damping ratio of the elastomer damper were mapped as a function of
excitation-amplitude and frequency. A comparison of drop-tower test results with servo-hydraulic measurements validated
the determined parameters.
Conclusions Determining the transmission behaviour of elastomeric dampers from highly dynamic and impact-induced
oscillation states proved to be a good approach to supplement established testing methods.

Keywords Drop tower · Torsional impact · Elastomer coupling · Viscoelasticity · Payne effect

Introduction behaviour of drivetrains is increasingly perceived as a safety

and quality feature [3], a more differentiated approach in
Elastomer dampers decisively contribute to the functioning solving vibration problems is needed today. NVH models
of our globalized world. Used in applications like marine of many commonly used drive components are constantly
propulsion, electric drives, conveyor belts, and rolling mills being developed [4–6]. This development enables model-
[1], these dampers can be found wherever the occurrence based prediction and optimisation of systems in the develop-
of impact loads is unavoidable. The reason lies in their ment process. However, the modelling quality of elastomer
ability to isolate vibration and mitigate impact loads [2]. components is below that of other drive components [7] and
Until a few decades ago, it was sufficient to solve vibra- thus renders system optimisation less effective.
tion problems by integrating any elastomer damper into the To predict the transmission behaviour of elastomer com-
respective system when undesirable vibrations occurred. The ponents it is necessary to correctly predict the behaviour of
only condition was that the damper withstood the mechani- the material elastomer itself. This prediction is impeded by
cal loads. Since the noise-vibration and harshness (NVH) a multitude of material effects [8]: The correlation of mate-
rial behaviour and temperature is strongly non-linear [9].
The so-called Mullins effect softens the material and only
* T. Rapp
[email protected] occurs during the first few loading cycles [10]. As seem in
Fig. 1, three further material effects, namely hyperelasticity,
1
Institute for Machine Elements and Systems Engineering viscoelasticity, and Payne effect, are decisive for the mate-
(MSE), RWTH Aachen University, Eilfschornsteinstraße 18, rial behaviour.
52074 Aachen, Germany

Vol.:(0123456789)
824 Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836

Fig. 1  Overview of relevant

material effects in elastomers,
adapted from [11]

Hyperelasticity causes non-linear stress–strain ratios limitations are a capped oil supply through hydraulic valves
even under quasi-static conditions (Fig. 1(a) [12, 13]. Vis- and resonances of the test setup, which increasingly super-
coelasticity results in time–frequency dependence of the impose test results at higher frequencies. The application of
material (Fig. 1(b) [14, 15]. The Payne effect describes servo-hydraulic test methods therefore does not allow impact
changes in stiffness and damping depending on the load testing. The other commonly used dynamic test device, elec-
amplitude (Fig. 1(c) [16, 17]. The most commonly used trodynamic test benches, exhibit the same limitation: They
approaches to model the resulting behaviour of these effects can be used to test elastomer components at frequencies up
are constitutive-analytical approaches and finite-element to 2 kHz, but only at deformation amplitudes less than 1%
simulation. However, all approaches need corresponding [21, 22].
experimental data of the to-be-modelled use-conditions Since commonly used test devices are insufficient for
either for validation or parameter identification purposes. testing impact subjected elastomer dampers, alternative
To obtain these experimental data, dynamic experiments testing devices and corresponding testing procedures are
need to be conducted. These experiments are usually based increasingly sought in research. Millet and Bourne, for
on subjecting the investigated test specimen or component to example investigated the impact reaction behaviour of
sinusoidal loads in a dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). polychloroprene, which they placed between steel plates
During the experiment, information on the material behav- and bombarded with a gas gun. Thereby they were able
iour is gathered by measuring the response deformation [18]. to demonstrate changes in the properties of the material
By changing frequency and amplitude separately, the viscoe- compared to slower hydraulic test methods [23]. Kren and
lasticity and the Payne effect can be quantified. A commonly Naumov used electromagnets to cause an indenter to strike
applied extension of the DMA is the dynamic mechanical an elastomer sample at a precisely defined velocity. Meas-
thermal analysis (DMTA) [19]. The DMTA applies a method urements of material relaxation provided information on
developed by Williams et al. to infer frequency changes time-dependent material behaviour [24]. Both Freidenberg
through temperature changes [20]. On that basis, the investi- et al. [25] and Meram [26] used drop towers to subject
gated frequency range can be extended, by performing DMA elastomer samples to impact loads. By varying the impact
at different temperatures. Validating a modelling approach, velocity, viscoelastic material parameters were obtained
however, cannot be based on DMTA-validating a model for FE simulation.
based on another model contradicts the purpose of valida- Especially impact tests on drop towers proved to be a
tion. Therefore, a testing device is required to reproduce the sufficient alternative for dynamic investigations of elasto-
entire in-use load spectrum of the investigated component. If mer material specimens. Still, there is no test setup avail-
this requirement can be met depends on both the test device able today that allows for testing different elastomer parts
and the to-be-investigated load spectrum. other than test samples. Especially rotationally loaded parts
Regarding the load spectrum, elastomer dampers usually to be characterized in the rotational degree of freedom can-
exhibit low stiffness and are subjected to large load ampli- not be investigated by means of impact testing yet. Addi-
tudes caused by impact loads. The combination of both tionally, required variation of test parameters, in particular
causes oscillations at large deformation amplitudes above of the loading speed, is not yet investigated to a sufficient
5% strain and frequencies above 50 Hz, as impacts can excite extent.
high natural frequencies. The aim of this work is to introduce a low-cost experi-
The most commonly deployed test devices are servo- mental procedure to characterize the rotational transmis-
hydraulic test benches, which can investigate high frequen- sion behaviour of elastomer dampers under typical in-use
cies up to 200 Hz due to fast switching valves. Proper test working conditions, including impact loads. Using a drop
setups can also be used for large amplitudes. However, the tower for lateral impact generation on a lever arm was
combination of both, large amplitudes and high frequen- found to be a sufficient approach. A test configuration
cies, may not be achieved due to test bench limitations. The was prototyped and used for testing an elastomer coupling.
Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836 825

Compared to tests on servo-hydraulic test rigs, the method 𝛿 = d∕2J , the approach 𝜑(t) = 𝜑 ̂ ej𝜔t can be used to find the
proved to produce qualitatively and quantitatively correct solution in equation (3).
results. It was possible to investigate parameter combina-
−𝛿t
tions on the prototype that cannot or only with great dif- 𝜑(t) = e−𝛿t 𝜑 ̂ 2 e−j𝜔t = 𝜑
̂ 1 ej𝜔t + 𝜑 (3)
( )
̂ ⋅ e cos(𝜔t − Φ)
ficulty be achieved on servo-hydraulic test benches.
In this work, it is assumed that an impact induces energy Eimp
Material and Methods into the one-mass spring-damper system, which beforehand
was neither strained nor in movement. The impact duration
Theory of Impact Investigation for Measuring is assumed to be very short compared to the cycle time and
Rotational Transmission Behaviour is therefore assumed to end at t = 0. Since the impact hap-
pens very fast, the system is still in a non-deformed state
To predict the behaviour of elastomer couplings, their mechan- (i.e.,𝜑(t = 0) = 0) after the impact, which allows determin-
ical properties can be easily modelled as a one degree of free- ing Φ = 𝜋∕2 as the only non-trivial solution. Directly after
dom spring-damper system [27]. Figure 2 shows the corre- impact, the system’s whole energy is stored as kinetic energy
sponding system in which the investigated elastomer damper Ekin according to equation (4).
is represented by a spring and a damper. In this work, the mass 1
m reflects the system subjected to impact loads. The accuracy Eimp = Ekin = ̇ = 0)2
⋅ J ⋅ 𝜑(t (4)
2
of this simplified model can be amplified by implementing the
dependence of the elastomer’s stiffness and damping on fre- The fact that the potential Energy of the spring Epot = 1∕2
quency and amplitude. For an experimental method to poten- ̂ 2 in an undamped system (𝛿 = 0) has to carry the sys-
⋅c ⋅ 𝜑
tially replace established methods, it has to offer the ability to tem’s whole energy allows for calculating the angular ampli-
determine the system’s parameters stiffness and damping at tude 𝜑̂ in equation (5).
different frequencies, amplitudes and preloads. √
To understand which measurement data needs to be 𝜑
̂ = 2Eimp ∕c (5)
obtained, the system’s equation of motion can be derived from
equality of forces (equation (1)). The equation can be equally One example of the resulting movement is shown in Fig. 3,
applied to a rotational system by replacing mass m by inertia J which represents an approximation of the expected measure-
and longitudinal position x by rotational angle 𝜑, equation (2). ment data. Note that this simplified system neglects the fact
that stiffness and damping of elastomer components change
m̈x + dẋ + cx = 0 (1) their properties during the experiment based on current
deformation and load.
J 𝜑̈ + d𝜑̇ + c𝜑 = 0 (2) Figure 3 shows a damped, thus decaying, sinusoidal
oscillation of both torsional angle and transmitted torque.
Considering the system´s undamped rotational eigenfrequency
√ The decomposition of the torque into a viscous component
𝜔0 = c∕J , the damped frequency 𝜔 = 𝜔0 ⋅ 1 − D2 ,
√
and an elastic component illustrates the phase shift between
Lehr's damping measure D = d∕(2J𝜔0 ) and decay coefficient the total torque and the torsional angle. Also shown in Fig. 3
is the energy of the overall system, which is composed of
the kinetic energy of the moving mass and the potential
energy of the spring and decreases logarithmically. From
the shown course of measured torque and angle, it is pos-
sible to determine the sought-after parameters frequency,
angular amplitude, preload, stiffness and damping.
It is necessary to ensure that the measured system per-
forms an oscillation which is not influenced from the out-
side. The torsional angle and the torque transmitted by
the coupling must be recorded during this oscillation. The
data acquisition must cover at least three quarters of an
oscillation period to be able to deduce damping from the
decrease of the amplitude. To make it possible to derive
characteristic diagrams of the coupling’s properties, vary-
Fig. 2  One mass spring damper system: c represents the spring’s stiff-
ing the test parameters is obligatory: The frequency can
ness, d is the damping coefficient, m stands for the mass in movement be influenced by varying the inertia and the amplitude by
and x is the time varying position of the mass varying the energy input.
826 Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836

Fig. 3  Time curve of the

energy [J]
expected measurement data 1
total torque [Nm]
consisting of torque and angle
viscous torque [Nm]
rotational angle [deg]
& elastic torque [Nm]
0.5

value
0

-0.5

0 2 4 6 8 10
time [s]

Theory of Impact Design context, L stands for the lever arm length, i.e. the orthogonal
distance from rotational axis to impact point. J is the inertia
According to Theory of Impact Investigation for Measuring and ωi represents the angular velocity.
Rotational Transmission Behaviour, the basic test principle
Ji
consists of transferring energy by impact contact into a sys- mi = and vi = ωi ⋅ L (8)
tem capable of oscillating freely. Since elastomer couplings L2
are loaded in torsional degree of freedom, the resulting Based on the calculated velocities, the equations of motion
oscillation has to be a rotation. This makes it necessary to of the lever arm and the drop mass after impact can be deter-
either have a translational impact force act on a lever arm or mined. The velocity v1 of the drop mass before impact is
to bring two rotational systems into impact contact. Since only dependant√ on drop height h and gravity constant g and
the latter is more difficult to implement, the translational equals v1 = 2 ⋅ h ⋅ g , which leads to velocity v1 of the drop
′

approach was applied in this work: An impact mass m1 is mass and velocity v2 of the tip of the lever arm after impact
′

dropped from the height h and accelerates by gravity to in equation (9).

velocity v1 before impacting on the lever arm. √ J √ J
If masses that move relatively to each other are brought �
2 ⋅ h ⋅ g ⋅ (m1 + L22 ⋅ k) � 2 ⋅ h ⋅ g ⋅ (m1 − L22 ⋅ k)
into contact, the faster moving mass transfers energy and v1 = J
;v2 = J
m1 + L22 m1 + L22
momentum to the other mass until the contact ends-a pro-
(9)
cess described by the impact law. Considering a translational
motion of mass m1 with velocity v1, stationary mass m2 and As the drop mass continues to move freely after impact, the
coefficient of restitution k , the resulting velocities v1 and v2
′ ′
only influencing factor on the motion of the mass is gravity,
of both masses can be calculated according to equations (6) with results in the equation of motion in equation (10).
and (7) [28]. �
x1 (t) = v1 ⋅ t + 0, 5 ⋅ g ⋅ t2 (10)
� m ⋅ v + m2 ⋅ v1 ⋅ k
v1 = 1 1 (6) To obtain the translational motion of the tip of the lever arm,
m1 + m2
the rotational equation of motion (3) is transformed into a
translational movement, which requires for the translational
� m1 ⋅ v1 − m1 ⋅ v1 ⋅ k amplitude ̂ x. Taking into account equation (5) while con-
v2 = (7) �2 �2
m1 + m2 sidering Eimp = 0, 5 ⋅ m2 ⋅ v 2 = 0, 5 ⋅ L22 ⋅ v 2 and the trans-
J

lational stiffness ctrans = c∕L2, results in equation (11) which

Equations (6) and (7) can be applied equivalently to two
finally delivers the equation of motion in equation (12).
rotational systems or to systems consisting of a combination
of both. For this purpose, rotational and translational sys- √ √
tems can be converted into equivalent systems by calculat- 2 ⋅ Eimp J2 ⋅ v� 22
̂
x= = (11)
ing substitute masses and velocities according to equations ctrans c
(8) and inserting the result in equations (6) and (7). In this
Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836 827

√
J2 ⋅ v� 22 drop tower electromagnet
x2 (t) = ̂
x⋅e
−𝛿t
cos(𝜔t − Φ) = ⋅ e−𝛿t cos(𝜔t − Φ) elastomer
c coupling
drop impact sensor
(12)
mass
Figure 4 visualises the movements and by that the expected
test sequence after impact for different inertias of the lever
arm J . It can be seen that the drop mass is accelerated lever
towards the lever arm until impact at t = 0. The impact leads arm
to either a reversal of direction of motion ( J = 0.1) or only
to a slowing down of the motion ( J = 0.15 and J = 0.5). If
no reversal is achieved or if the escape velocity of mass 1
after the impact is too low ( J = 0.15), the masses undergo bearings distance
a second impact within the first oscillation period of the force sensor sensor
lever arm. As measurement data are expected to decrease in
quality by a second impact, mass ratios must be chosen in a
way that no second impact is evident. To verify whether spe-
cific combinations of parameters result in a second impact, Fig. 5  Drop tower for impact generation
equations (10) and (12) can be equated and solved numeri-
cally. If the calculated impact-times is greater than the lever tested elastomer coupling is connected to a lever arm on the
arm’s cycle time, the parameter combination does not cause one side and to a flange on the other side, which are both
a double impact. mounted on ball-bearings. The test setup is positioned in a
way, that the drop mass comes into contact with a piezo sen-
Experimental Setup sor (PCB: 200C50) at the end of the lever arm, which meas-
ures the impact force. The coupling flange is connected to a
Drop Tower force sensor (HBM: K-U10M) whose measurements allow
for calculating torques transmitted by the coupling. A laser
To implement the test concept described in Theory of Impact sensor (Keyence: LK-H152) detects the coupling's torsional
Investigation for Measuring Rotational Transmission Behav- angle indirectly via a distance measurement. Data acqui-
iour and Theory of Impact Design, the test rig shown in sition is performed with a measurement amplifier (HBM:
Fig. 5 was constructed. In the drop tower, a drop mass can Quantum X) and the downstream software Catman (HBM)
be positioned at various heights by a rope hoist while a rope attaining a maximum sampling rate of 38 kHz. The total cost
sensor measures the height. The mass is held in place by of the configuration is below 15.000 €.
a permanent magnet which can be rendered ineffective by Parameter variation is achieved by various drop heights,
application of an electrical current to initiate the experiment. different drop masses and different additional masses on the
The impact structure is positioned below the drop tower. The lever arm. By applying a force on the lever arm using a

Fig. 4  Expected course of 40

impact experiments on the drop drop mass L drop mass
= 200 mm
tower lever arm
30 c lever arm
= 916 Nm/rad
J(1) = 0.1 kg mm² D J(1) = 0.1
= kg mm² 1.6
J(2) = 0.15 kg mm² = kg mm² 2 kg
m1J(2) = 0.15
20 h J(1) = 0.5
= kg mm² 2 m
3 = 0.5 kg mm²
J(1)
1st impact
distance [mm]

10

-10
2nd impact
-20
-0.005 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03
time [s]
828 Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836

Table 1  Test parameters of the

drop tower and properties of the Drop height h [mm] 5 – 6000 Preload [kNm] 0;0.5;1
investigated elastomer coupling Length lever arm [mm] 200 Coupling catalogue stiffness [Nm/rad] 916
Coupling catalogue damping ratio [-] 1.6
Rotating Inertia Jrot [kg ­m2] 1: 0.1557 Material Natural rubber
2: 0.359 Shore A hardness 60
3: 0.5233
Drop mass mdrop [kg] 1 kg, 2 kg Quasistatic shear modulus [N/mm2] 0.59

screw, the coupling can be pre-deformed prior to the experi- recorded with a maximum sampling rate of 2048Hz with an
ment. Available parameters are listed in Table 1, includ- uncertainty of ±5Nm for the torque and ±0.02◦ for the angle.
ing catalogue parameters of the investigated coupling´s
damping ratio dratio = Ediss ∕Eel as quotient of the dissipated
energy per full load cycle Ediss and the stored elastic energy Design of Experiment
Eel . Also given are information on the coupling’s material.
Detailed information on the elastomer compound was not The drop tower experiments were planned to investigate the
provided by the manufacturer. entire parameter space in order to show that both, the ampli-
The tested coupling is a full volume elastomer disc cou- tude and frequency dependence of the elastomer damper, can
pling, in which the torque is transmitted in axial direction be correctly captured. Table 2 lists all parameters which can
through an elastomer ring with a thickness of approximately be changed independently. In the first column, the available
50 mm, an inner diameter of 200 mm and an outer diameter inertias of the lever arm and the drop masses are given, as
of 270 mm. Due to the ring-shaped design, the elastomer they cannot be changed independently of each other: Follow-
undergoes almost pure shear, which results in geometrically ing Theory of Impact Design, a combination of 2kg drop mass
linear and backlash-free transmission behaviour. and rotational inertia 1 would result in a double impact. For
this reason, the experiments with inertia 1 were carried out
with the small 1kg drop mass (subsequently referenced as case
Servo‑Hydraulic Test Setup 1). For the experiments with inertia 2 (subsequently refer-
enced as case 2) and inertia 3 (subsequently referenced as case
The servo-hydraulic test setup shown in Fig. 6 is used to 3) the 2kg drop mass was deployed. Every possible combina-
validate the measurement results of the drop tower. In the tion of the three different inertias, ten different drop heights,
servohydraulic test setup, elastomer couplings can be sub- and three different preloads shown in Table 2 was investigated
jected to dynamic torsional loads by a hydraulic actuator separately. For statistical insurance, each test was carried out
(Schenk hydropuls rotary actuator 8kNm). The torsional five times. This results in a total of 3x10x3x5 = 450 recorded
angle of the coupling as well as the torque transmitted by impact tests.
the coupling are measured during the test. The investigable Prior to the experiments, the coupling was pre-strained
angle is ±20◦, the maximum test frequency is 200Hz and to avoid an influence of the Mullins effect. The applied
the maximum torque is ±8kNm . Measurement data can be pre-straining procedure is visualized in Fig. 7 and includes

Table 2  Parameters in drop tower test. Each possible combination of

the parameters was tested five times
Inertia [kg ­m2] / drop mass drop height [m] Preload [kNm]
[kg]

0.1557 / 1 (case 1) 0.05 0

0.359 / 2 (case 2) 0.2 0.5
0.5233/ 2 (case 3) 0.4 1
0.55
0.7
1
1.4
1.8
3.5
Fig. 6  Servohydraulic test bench with mounted elastomer coupling 6
Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836 829

Results and Discussion

Experimental Data in Time Domain

In every drop tower experiment, measurement data regard-

ing the impact force, torsional angle and transmitted torque
are obtained in time domain. Figure 8 shows examples of
test results obtained for three different combinations of test
parameters without preload. By a detailed investigation of
the measured impact torque, it can be seen that the dura-
tion of the force application due to impact is approx.0.3ms.
Fig. 7  Pre-straining procedure to avoid an influence of the Mullins
The impact duration decreases slightly by reducing the drop
effect
mass. The maximum applied torque increases with increas-
ing drop height, increasing drop mass and increasing inertia
of the rotating mass and amounts to 26.2kNm. The course of
subjecting the coupling to three very slow oscillations of the rotational angle immediately after the impact shows the
the torsional angle. The constant amplitude of 28° is the expected decaying sinusoidal oscillation described in Theory
highest angular amplitude, which the tested coupling can of Impact Investigation for Measuring Rotational Transmis-
withstand without damage. After these large deformations, sion Behaviour. The frequency of the oscillation increases
the coupling’s material exhibits inner tensions by the Payne with reduced inertia, the amplitude increases with increased
effect. Therefore, the amplitude is slowly reduced to zero drop height. It becomes clear that the assumption of the sys-
at a higher frequency (∼100 oscillation cycles). After this tem as a one-mass spring-damper is justified. With a mini-
procedure, the coupling is left to rest for 30 min for inner mum cycle time greater than 20ms, the assumption of a very
stresses caused by viscoelastic material behaviour to dis- short impact duration (0.3ms) also seems appropriate Fig. 8
sipate. The Mullins effect can be seen in a decrease of the shows that along with the decaying sinusoidal oscillation on
torque amplitude during the first two oscillation cycles. The the torque trend over time, additional superimposed oscilla-
pre-straining procedure was considered sufficient as no fur- tions are present. Since these oscillations are not reflected in
ther decrease can be observed in the third cycle, while the the measured values for the torsion angle, they are presumable
angular amplitude is kept constant. due to resonances in the test setup on the force measurement
The tests on the servo-hydraulic test rig are intended to side and higher natural frequencies of the elastomer coupling.
provide comparative values for validation. To map the influ-
ence of the frequency, three frequency sweeps were per- Evaluation of Experimental Results and Parameter
formed in which the load frequency was varied at constant Identification
angular amplitude. The amplitude dependency was tested
by applying amplitude sweeps, in which the load amplitude The observed superimposed torque-oscillations impede
was varied at constant frequency. determining the sought coupling parameters. If, for example,

Fig. 8  Examples for drop tower

test results in time domain for
three different test parameter
combinations without preload-
ing. The legend refers to Table 2
and indicates the inertia of the
rotation mass as well as the
drop height
830 Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836

an increase in stiffness when the amplitude decreases due to

damping, which leads to a higher frequency. This effect is
neglected in the single-mass spring-damper model.
From the identified parameters, the sought-after param-
eters stiffness and damping can be determined directly
according to equations (15) and (16).

cdyn,M1 = J ⋅ (𝜔2var + (𝛿var ⋅ 2 ⋅ J)2 ) (15)

Ediss 1
dratio, = = (( )
Eel ) )2
(16)
(
𝛿var
−
2⋅ e 𝜔var ⋅2⋅𝜋 −1

To verify whether this calculation is valid, the measured

torque signal was used for a comparative evaluation and for
that was also analysed via curve fit. It was considered that
the measured angle is proportional to the deformation of the
Fig. 9  Result of curve fitting
coupling material. Since this deformation causes the reac-
the coupling’s stiffness was calculated from the quotient of tion torque, the frequency of the measured torque curves
the maximum angle and the torque measured at the same must correspond to the frequency of the measured angle.
time, the oscillations would result in a random variance of The same applies to the time-dependent amplitude decay,
±55%. For this reason, the approach derived in Theory of so that the variable parameters 𝜑 ̂ var,T and Φvar,T can be used
Impact Investigation for Measuring Rotational Transmission according to the angle function. The function in equation
Behaviour is used to improve the quality of analysis. Equa- (17) with the variable parameters 𝝋 ̂ var,T and 𝚽var,T was fitted
tion (3) is adapted to the course of the measured angle by to the torque measurement data. The result of the fit is shown
means of quadratic optimisation. Bytaking into account the in the lower diagram in Fig. 9.
variable parameters 𝜑 ̂ var , 𝛿var , 𝜔var and Φvar the approach −𝛿 t
(17)
( )
T(t) = 𝝋̂ var,T ⋅ e var cos 𝜔var t − 𝚽var,T
function in equation (13), the error function with the square
weighted error erf and the measured angle 𝜑mes in equation Table 3 shows the identified parameters. The table also
(14) are obtained. The quality of the fit can be optimized by includes a column showing a comparison of coupling
varying the length of the time window twin. parameters determined from curve fitting to angle meas-
−𝛿 t urement (equations (15) and (16)) to coupling stiffness
(13)
( )
𝜑(t) = 𝜑
̂ var ⋅ e var cos 𝜔var t
cdyn,M2 = T(𝝋 = 𝝋max )∕𝝋max calculated with respect to the
measured torque. It is clear to see that both methods provide
t
) ∑win √
similar results. Discrepancies between the stiffnesses remain
(𝜑(t))2 − 𝜑2mes (t) (14)
(
erf 𝜑̂ var , 𝛿var , 𝜔var, Φvar = less than 5%. These probably originate from inaccuracies in
t=0
the determination of the phase shift between the angle and
The upper graph in Fig. 9 shows the curve fit for the angle torque curves due to the superimposed oscillations in the
course also shown in Fig. 8. Only the first complete cycle torque signal. From this point, only parameters, which are
time is considered for the fitting. It is clear that the selected calculated based on the course of the angle, are considered.
fitting function reproduces the measurement data of the first Since the dependency of stiffness and damping on fre-
oscillation period with high accuracy. However, the longer quency and angular amplitude is to be determined in the
the test lasts, the less accurate the prediction of the trans- drop tower test, it is necessary to calculate a reference fre-
fer behaviour becomes. The reason for that is the change in quency and a reference angular amplitude which are char-
material properties during the test: The Payne effect causes acteristic for the respective test. The frequency can be read

Table 3  Function parameters No 𝜑

̂ var 𝛿var 𝜔var 𝜑
̂ var,T Φvar,T cdyn,M1 cdyn,M2 dratio
and resulting stiffness and
damping 1 1.6473 33.031 293.64 0.4487 282.92 254.341 267.490 1.5552
2 2.8063 18.373 164.81 0.5672 176.10 205.306 194.464 1.5295
3 0.6261 16.426 154.59 0.2002 157.24 313.555 315.711 1.4005
Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836 831

directly from Table 3 as relative to angular velocity 𝜔var . Preloading

However, the angular amplitude decreases in the course of
the experiment due to the damping of the elastomer cou- As an additional crucial parameter that may influence the
pling. For this reason, the amplitude in the middle of the coupling behaviour, the preload has the potential to cause
evaluated time period according to equation (18) is assumed significant changes in the transmission behaviour as well.
as the reference angular amplitude 𝜑
̂ var,ref . The mechanisms of this influence are the hyperelastic mate-
rial behaviour (cf. chapter 1) and non-linear geometries. A
𝜑 ̂ var ⋅ e−𝛿var ⋅tmax ∕2
̂ var,ref = 𝜑 (18) non-linear geometry is particularly present if the topology
of a component under load deviates significantly from the
Parameter Variation topology in the unloaded state.
According to Drop Tower, the preload can be applied to
Since the influence of different load conditions on the cou- the elastomer coupling before the experiment is carried out.
pling behaviour is to be investigated at the drop tower, it Figure 11 shows that no influence of this preload on the
is necessary to vary test parameters. As described in Drop recorded coupling behaviour can be observed, although the
Tower, the influence of frequency and angular amplitude on measurement results are consistent even under preload. The
the coupling behaviour needs to be examined. The angular result suggests that the drop tower might also be used to
amplitude can be increased easily by introducing additional detect the influence of preload on geometrically non-linear
kinetic energy into the oscillating system. For this purpose, couplings. Unlike that, the proof can only be provided in
either the drop mass or the drop height can be increased. future work, since the coupling under investigation shows
Since a larger drop mass potentially leads to multiple con- geometrically linear as well as non-hyperelastic behaviour.
tacts between the lever arm and the drop mass, as described
in Theory of Impact Design, the drop height was changed Constitutive Modelling
first and foremost. Figure 10(a) shows the influence of
the ten adjustable drop heights on the angular amplitude. As described in Parameter Variation, the parameters fre-
For each drop height five impact tests were performed. It quency and angular amplitude cannot be controlled inde-
becomes clear that the variation of the drop height has the pendently of each other. If, for example, the drop height
desired effect on the angular amplitude. is changed in order to influence the angular amplitude, the
To investigate different frequencies, it is possible to attach resulting frequency is also subject to change. Thus, it is par-
additional mass to the lever arm. Thus, the natural frequency ticularly difficult in the drop tower to specifically set certain
of the system is decreased. Figure 10(b) shows the influ- parameter combinations. A model description of the meas-
ence of different inertias on the frequency. As expected, the ured behaviour is required, which allows for conclusions to
frequency decreases with increasing inertia. However, the be drawn from the investigated conditions to other conditions.
frequency is also subjected to change without changes of the In this work, a descriptive-model was developed based
inertia. The observed decrease in frequency with increas- on an approach developed by Austrell [29] to consider the
ing angular amplitude is a consequence of the Payne effect viscoelastic material behaviour and the Payne effect inde-
described in Theory of Impact Investigation for Measuring pendent of each other. By that, the total stiffness ctotal is the
Rotational Transmission Behaviour. Larger amplitudes can sum of viscoelastic stiffness cvis and elastoplastic stiffness
lead to a lower stiffness of the elastomer, resulting in a lower cEP . The elasto-plastic stiffness is modeled as a two-member
frequency. Figure 10(c) illustrates this effect and furthermore Prony series due to the observed degressive relationship
the viscoelastic behaviour of the elastomer, which leads to between stiffness and angular amplitude-in analogy to the
an increase in stiffness with higher frequency. Table 4 gives commonly used modeling of elasto-plasticity as a spring-
an overview of the determined coupling parameters for dif- friction eleent [30]. It is known from literature that vis-
ferent combinations of drop height and inertia. coelastic stiffness follows an exponential relationship with

Fig. 10  Effect of parameter

variation on the drop tower
832 Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836

Table 4  Characteristic diagram 𝜑

̂ f c d 𝜑
̂ f c d
of coupling’s stiffness and deg Hz Nm/deg - deg Hz Nm/deg -
damping relative to amplitude
and frequency 0.172 60.18 390.0 0.620 0.982 28.38 201.6 1.484
0.305 55.26 330.0 0.991 0.836 29.21 213.6 1.468
0.481 50.63 278.4 1.543 1.559 26.37 174.2 1.522
0.570 49.13 262.6 1.759 1.775 25.80 166.6 1.447
0.660 47.82 249.1 1.900 2.721 24.46 149.6 1.351
0.889 45.32 223.9 1.957 3.201 23.92 142.9 1.252
0.652 47.98 250.8 1.883 0.144 30.71 341.2 0.505
1.121 43.64 207.4 1.871 0.334 27.90 282.4 0.814
0.996 44.50 215.9 2.010 0.539 25.87 243.1 0.957
1.765 40.78 181.0 1.735 0.621 25.09 228.9 1.076
2.295 39.20 167.0 1.587 0.740 24.32 215.2 1.140
0.242 36.13 325.0 0.862 0.867 23.51 201.7 1.442
0.458 32.77 267.9 1.094 1.046 22.91 191.4 1.419
0.693 30.60 234.0 1.275 1.503 21.79 173.3 1.467
0.814 29.54 218.3 1.399 1.944 21.04 161.4 1.363

frequency [31]. Following this, √ the viscoelastic stiffness experimentally determined coupling parameters with model
is mapped propotionally to( f )and and additional Prony predictions. It can be clearly seen that the model, visualised
term. The total stiffness ctotal 𝜑̂ , f = 𝐜𝐄𝐏 (̂𝛗) + cvis (f ) is thus in the right diagram in Fig. 12, is able to accurately repro-
obtained as a function of the four elastoplastic Prony param- duce the experimental results.
eters 𝐤1 to 𝐤4 and the viscoelastic model parameter k5 to k7 To simplify the model of the coupling’s damping, it is
in equation (19). considered that, in accordance with the double logarithmic
√ representation in Fig. 1(b), stiffness and damping run as
̂ , f = 𝐤1 ⋅ 10−𝐤2 ⋅̂𝛗 + 𝐤3 ⋅ 10−𝐤4 ⋅̂𝛗 + k5 ⋅ f + k6 ⋅ 10−k 7 ⋅f
� �
c 𝜑 straight lines over a wide frequency range. Their relation-
(19) ship can thus be described as a frequency-independent fac-
Equation (19) represents a continuous plane equation in tor. If the dependence of this factor on the load amplitude
three-dimensional space of stiffness, amplitude and fre- is modelled as a two-part Prony series, in the same way as
quency and can thus be adapted to the measurement results in equation (19), equation (20) is obtained. If the stiffness
by means of quadratic optimisation. To achieve this optimi- in equation (19) is applied to equation (20), the amplitude-
zation, the Matlab Curve Fitting Toolbox was applied. Fig- and frequency-dependent damping can be determined.
ure 12 shows the calculated model parameters and compares ( )
c 𝜑̂, f
= k8 ⋅ 10−k9 ⋅̂𝜑 + k10 ⋅ 10−k11 ⋅̂𝜑 + k12 ⋅ 10−k13 ⋅̂𝜑 (20)
𝜑)
d(̂
0 Nm
400
100 Nm Since equation (20) describes only a two-dimensional cor-
200 Nm relation, it can easily be adapted to the existing measured
350
data by quadratic optimisation. Figure 13 shows the deter-
mined model parameters k8 to k13 as well as a comparison of
stiffness [Nm/deg]

measurement data and model prediction. The measured data

300 for damping are subject to slightly higher dispersion than
the measured data for stiffness in Fig. 12, but the results of
the test cases clearly follow the same relationship, which is
250 reproduced with moderate deviation from the model.

Measurements on Servo‑Hydraulic Test Bench

200
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
The experimental setup described in Servo-Hydraulic Test
angular amplitude [deg] Setup was used to generate reference data to validate drop tower
measurements. Three frequency sweeps were performed at a
Fig. 11  Influence of preload on the coupling’s transmission behaviour respective constant amplitude of 0.5°, 1.5° and 2.5°. In these
Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836 833

Fig. 12  Comparison of fitted

model stiffness and experimen-
tal results

sweeps the maximum frequency was determined by the test Servo-Hydraulic Test Bench). The model was not adapted
bench’s maximum oil flow rate to 100 Hz, 60 Hz and 20 Hz, to the values determined on the servo-hydraulic test bench.
respectively. Furthermore, three amplitude sweeps were car- Figure 14(a) visualizes stiffness values from servohy-
ried out at constant frequencies of 1 Hz, 10 Hz and 30 Hz, with draulic experiments in three amplitude sweeps each at a
respective maximum angular amplitudes of 10°, 6° and 2°. constant frequency of 1 Hz, 10 Hz and 30 Hz, respectively.
The evaluation of the experiments is carried out accord- Further, the corresponding stiffness predictions by the drop
ing to [32], whereby the Savitzky-Golay filter with a width tower model are shown. It is clear to see that both, measured
of an eighth of a cycle time is used to smooth the test data. stiffness and predicted stiffness, follow the same qualitative
The test parameters determined in the test evaluation are course. The stiffness decreases with increasing amplitudes
always considered and not the target specifications for the (by a factor of 3 within the observed parameter space) and
test rig. is generally higher at higher frequencies. Measurement and
prediction are in good quantitative agreement with devia-
Validation of Drop Tower Results tions below 2%, even at amplitudes above 3.5° and below
0.3° which are beyond the measuring range of the drop
To validate the developed model (cf. Constitutive Modelling) tower.
and by that to also the proposed drop tower testing method, Looking at the measured and predicted damping ratios
parameters predicted by the model were compared to param- in Fig. 14(b) for the same amplitude sweeps, qualitatively
eters derived from measurements on the servo-hydraulic test identical courses can be found. At small angles, the damping
bench (cf. Servo-Hydraulic Test Setup and Measurements on ratio initially increases with increasing angle, reaches a pla-
teau and then decreases. Both, the existence of the plateau
and the angular amplitude at which the plateau occurs, are
correctly predicted by the model. Furthermore, an increase
in the relative damping with increasing frequency can be
observed, which is also predicted correctly. Regarding the
quantitative quality of the prediction a significant decease
can be observed above and below the measuring range of the
drop tower. However, within the measuring range the error
stays below 6.5%.
A comparison of predicted and measured stiffness
in three frequency sweeps each at a constant angular
amplitude of 0.5°, 1.5° and 2.5°, respectively, is given
in Fig. 14(c). Again an excellent qualitative agreement
can be seen. Model and measurement exhibit increasing
stiffness with increasing frequency and generally higher
stiffness at smaller angular amplitudes. Within the meas-
uring range of the drop tower, above 20 Hz, almost no
deviation between measured and predicted values (< 1%)
is to be observed. At smaller frequencies, the deviation
amounts up to 6%.
Damping ratio predictions and measurements in the same
Fig. 13  Comparison of fitted model and measurement results for the
damping ratio frequency sweeps are compared in Fig. 14(d). An increase
834 Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836

Fig. 14  Comparison of servo-

hydraulic experiment (exp) and
prediction (prd) based on drop
tower experiments

in damping ratio with increasing frequency can be observed Conclusions

in measurement and prediction. Within the measuring range
of the drop tower quantitative deviations are small (< 2%) An experimental set-up was designed and developed based
and amount up to 12% at lower frequencies. on the theory of impact law to investigate the dynamic trans-
All in all, the change of the investigated parameters mission behaviour of torsional-impact subjected elastomer
stiffness and damping within the tested parameter space dampers. The setup consists of a drop tower in which a drop
amounts to 300% and 200%, respectively. The observed mass is released from a precisely adjustable height. The drop
discrepancy of model and measurements stays below 6% mass impacts a lever arm connected to the testes damper
for stiffness and about 7% for damping. That means that which results in a torsional oscillation. It was found that this
most of the respective changes are predicted correctly. oscillation corresponds to the expected motion of a single-
Increasing deviations can be observed especially at ampli- mass spring-damper for at least one cycle of motion. An
tudes and frequencies beyond the measuring range of the optimisation-based adaptation of the corresponding equa-
drop tower, which indicates that most of the error evolves tion of motion to experimental results allows for determin-
from extrapolating the drop tower measurements to the ser- ing stiffness and damping parameters of the coupling. Test
vohydraulic measuring range. Nevertheless, it is clear to parameters can be adjusted by varying the drop height and
see that measured values and predictions are quantitatively the mass of the lever arm. In 400 impact tests, a characteris-
close to each other and show the exact same qualitative tic diagram of the coupling’s parameters was made. Based
progression. on the overlay model, plane equations were developed in
Based on the validation results, it seems plausible to parameter space of frequency, load amplitude, and stiff-
predict the behaviour of elastomer couplings also for non- ness resp. damping and adapted to measurement results by
impact loads only based on drop tower experiments with optimisation-based parameter identification. The equations
high accuracy. Drop tower experiments can therefore allow for predicting the damper’s behaviour for conditions
directly contribute to increasing the quality of predictions which are not considered in experiments. The entire evalu-
of the behaviour of elastomer couplings. Restrictions of the ation process was validated by comparing the calibrated
examinable parameter space, for example due to resonances model to experiments on a servo-hydraulic test bench. It was
of the test setup or due to limits in the maximum oil flow shown that the drop tower, even in its prototypical imple-
rate, do not apply to drop tower test. Further investigation is mentation, delivers measurement results that quantitatively
needed to fully exploit the drop towers potential-especially correspond to servo-hydraulic measurements. A significantly
to increase the transmitted energy into the lever arm and by lower scatter of the results can be achieved with investment
that achieve higher angular amplitudes. costs many times lower (< 10%).
Experimental Mechanics (2022) 62:823–836 835

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