Modeling and Identification of Elastomeric Bearing Characteristics for Large-Scale Simulations

Abstract

A constitutive equation of the differential type is introduced to model the nonlinear viscoelastic response behavior of elastomeric bearings in large-scale system simulations for vibration assessment and component loads prediction. The model accounts for the nonlinear dependence of dynamic stiffness and damping on vibration amplitude commonly observed in the behavior of bearings made of particle-reinforced elastomers. A testing procedure for the identification of the model parameters from bearing component test data is described. The experimental and analytical results for predicting the behavior of four (4) different car bushings are presented. In an example application, the model is incorporated in an ADAMS simulation to study the dynamic behavior of a car rear suspension.