Gas-Permeable Air Spring Material for Lower Spring Rate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air springs used in vehicular and industrial applications are bulky and heavy, making them unsuitable for electric vehicles, and reducing their size increases the spring rate, leading to an uncomfortable ride due to high stiffness, while the use of adsorbent materials in the fixed volume is limited by clogging and incompatibility with dynamic volumes.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a block of gas-permeable resilient material, such as open-cell foam, in the air spring's dynamic volume to act as a heat sink, reducing the spring rate by maintaining a constant temperature during adiabatic cycles, and using it as a barrier to contain adsorptive materials, preventing clogging and maintaining fluid communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the volume size of the air spring is reduced, then the weight and size of the air spring are decreased, but the spring rate increases resulting in an unacceptably hard spring and uncomfortable ride
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a porous adsorbent material (such as open-cell foam) into the air spring chamber. This material provides a large surface area for gas adsorption, enabling the air spring to maintain a low spring rate even at reduced volumes. The porous structure allows gas to be stored and released, effectively reducing the stiffness of the air spring without increasing its physical dimensions.
2Force
If the fixed volume is made as large as possible to retain an acceptable spring rate, then the spring rate is maintained, but the air spring becomes bulky and heavy
Solution Approach 1:
The porous adsorbent material enables efficient gas storage within a compact volume. The high surface area-to-volume ratio of the porous structure allows a large amount of gas to be adsorbed in a small space, maintaining the required spring rate without increasing the overall volume of the air spring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the porous adsorbent material with the air spring system to create a composite structure. This composite approach allows the integration of gas storage functionality within the existing air spring architecture, achieving both compact volume and acceptable spring rate performance.
3Force
If adsorbent material is used to reduce spring rate, then the spring rate is reduced and vibration isolation is improved, but the adsorbent material may cause clogging and is incompatible with dynamic volumes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies using open-cell foam as the adsorbent material, which has a controlled porous structure that prevents clogging. The interconnected open cells allow gas to flow freely while the foam matrix provides structural stability, preventing the material from collapsing or blocking gas passages during dynamic operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the physical and chemical parameters of the adsorbent material, such as pore size, porosity, and material composition, to ensure compatibility with dynamic volumes. By carefully selecting and tuning these parameters, the adsorbent material can effectively reduce spring rate while maintaining reliability and preventing clogging during dynamic operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces the spring rate of air springs, particularly at higher frequencies, enhances vibration isolation, and prevents contamination of the air supply system, making the air springs more suitable for electric vehicles by reducing weight and size while maintaining performance.
Implementation Method 1
a block of gas permeable resilient material contained in the chamber... acting to reduce the spring rate of the pressurised gas
Implementation Method 2
The use of a mass of adsorbent (adsorptive) material (such as activated carbon) to lower the spring rate of an air spring
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an air spring for supporting a load, the air spring comprising: a chamber for holding a pressurised gas in use; a load bearing surface arranged to transmit a force from a load in use to the pressurised gas, and a block of gas permeable resilient material contained in the chamber. Uses of a block of gas permeable resilient material are also disclosed.