ROEHRIG ENGINEERING TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING SERIES

WHY THERE IS A FORCE VALUE AT ZERO VELOCITY

Why is There a Force at Zero Velocity?

Figure #1: Rebound Close / Compression Open, Force vs Velocity

This graph represents one of the most frequently asked questions: Why is
there a force at zero velocity? The quick answer is that during a sine wave test,
zero velocity occurs for a very brief period, and in that time the shock cannot
equalize all the internal forces to zero. In the following pages, we will try to
explain why it happens in detail.

ROEHRIG ENGINEERING INC.

WWW.ROEHRIGENGINEERING.COM
1-800-735-7265
1

ROEHRIG ENGINEERING TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING SERIES

WHY THERE IS A FORCE VALUE AT ZERO VELOCITY

The test to produce this graph went as follows:

A Penske damper was used with a linear digressive piston. A soft
compression stack, a large rebound stack and quite a bit of preload were put into it.
A rebound jet was used, meaning it was closed on compression and open on
rebound. A 2-inch stroke was selected on a Roehrig Engineering 5VS shock
dynamometer. The damper was warmed to 90 deg F, a gas test was preformed and
the test velocity was 5 in/sec. The original rebound jet setting was -8 from full
closed. The test was preformed again at -6, -4, -2 and at 0, fully closed, all at the
same velocity. The results are displayed in the graph shown in Figure #1. I have
turned off the collections in between -8 and 0 to help with clarity. Without any
affect on compression, we have continually added rebound force, and the damper
has continued to make more rebound force.

Figure #2: RC / CO w/ All 5 Rebound Jet Settings

ROEHRIG ENGINEERING INC.
WWW.ROEHRIGENGINEERING.COM
1-800-735-7265
2

ROEHRIG ENGINEERING TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING SERIES

WHY THERE IS A FORCE VALUE AT ZERO VELOCITY

Figure #2 shows all 5 settings on the RC / CO graph. Without doing

anything other than closing off the bleed in the damper, we have continued to make
more rebound force and the force at zero velocity has progressed more into the
negative force along the Y-axis. Why?
First, we examined the data traces that produced these graphs. Using the F7
key, we can select the displacement trace and verify that the same displacement
(stroke) was run for each setting. Next we examined the velocity curve, at zero
velocity, the time difference from the first setting to the last was 0.0045 seconds.
So we can assume that at zero velocity, the shock was always at the same point in
time and hence the same velocity was maintained for each test, regardless of the
force. On a 2VS, this time difference would have been much more dramatic since
the extreme force from rebound would have been slowing the dyno on each
successive run.
So if the input for each test was the same, how can there be more and more
force at zero velocity? Lets check one more thing. Does the dyno do any
calculations, rounding, error compensation, etc..? No, in a word, the dyno is
stupid. It merely rotates the crank at the velocity you request and collects the data.
The data is collected at 2000 points per channel per second, so it is safe to say that
for a 2 inch stroke and 5 in/sec test, more than enough data points were taken.
Again, this can be proven in our software by simply moving the cursor along a
given trace. With no smoothing on, we will have a data point every 0.0005
seconds.
Okay, lets come to grips with one more thing; pressure. As the piston
moves through the fluid in the shock, it produces a force in reaction to being
moved. How much force depends on the shim stack, the bleed, the velocity,
preload, temperature, oil viscosity, gas pressure and even the type of piston. This
force, spread over the area of a piston is pressure. Another way to think about a
shock is that it is a pressure vessel. As the shock is compressed and accelerated to
peak velocity, it begins to generate pressure in the positive sense. As it starts to
slow down while still compressing, the pressure starts to drop. The dyno reaches
TDC, (Top Dead Center), and then starts to pull the shock apart in the rebound
direction. The pressure cycle starts all over in the negative sense. As you watch
the dyno, it moves through the point of zero velocity very quickly, it is only zero
velocity for a short time. In fact, the time it takes to go from +0.5 in/sec to -0.5
ROEHRIG ENGINEERING INC.
WWW.ROEHRIGENGINEERING.COM
1-800-735-7265
3

ROEHRIG ENGINEERING TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING SERIES

WHY THERE IS A FORCE VALUE AT ZERO VELOCITY

in/sec is only 0.035 seconds; an incredibly short time. This tells you that the idea
the damper is stopping at zero velocity, hanging out and stabilizing is not real. It
moves through zero velocity very quickly.
If there is a large pressure build up on the rebound side due to the stack and
lack of bleed, then how does the pressure equalize and zero itself out in the 0.001
of a second that it passes through zero velocity? The answer is that it does not.
Fluid and pressure flow through the path of least resistance. If there is very little
bleed either through the jet or piston, then how can it equalize? That is why as you
decrease the amount of bleed, you decrease the ability of the shock to equalize, and
then the shock continues to show a resultant force in the negative side at zero force
i.e. the rebound nose moves down the graph. The damper actually starts in the
compression direction before it starts to equalize and begins to make positive force.
If you increase the amount of bleed, the damper will start to go back up the y-axis
moving towards zero. More bleed would give it a better ability to equalize.
Another factor is the gas chamber itself. In the compression open phase the
shock is being compressed and accelerated to peak velocity. It is also compressing
the gas chamber. In the compression closing phase, the shock is slowing down but
the gas chamber is still being compressed. We know that this gas chamber exerts a
force and the more you compress it the more force it exerts. In that late stage of
compression closing, the most effect of the gas chamber is going to be felt and the
result is the addition of force to the curve. This is one of the factors to why the
compression closing is higher than the compression opening curves.
Another way to look at this is, with less bleed in the damper, the hysteresis
increases. Hysteresis is the mechanical difference in a system. For instance, in
this damper, it would be the difference between rebound opening and rebound
closing. Or the difference in the shock being accelerated up to peak velocity and
being de-accelerated to zero. This increase shows itself as the nose moving down
the force axis.
While we are working in this low bleed area we can look at the hysteresis
that is occurring. Using the Force vs. Absolute Velocity graph, you can see the
difference caused by more and less bleed. Figure #3 shows the same shock at -8
from closed and at 0 (closed off). The green trace has a large bleed path, at zero
velocity it goes very close to zero. In addition, you see that the rebound closed and
ROEHRIG ENGINEERING INC.
WWW.ROEHRIGENGINEERING.COM
1-800-735-7265
4

ROEHRIG ENGINEERING TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING SERIES

WHY THERE IS A FORCE VALUE AT ZERO VELOCITY

the rebound open curves are closer together than the red graph. When you remove
bleed, you put more emphasis on every other part of the damper system. This
includes, the oil compressibility, damper deflection, piston deflection, gas chamber
and the seals involved in the shock. Like a garden hose or radiator, the higher the
water pressure the more places water will try to escape. If it can not escape, the
pressure will rise and that is why you see a larger difference with the smaller bleed.
Again, drill a large bleed hole in your piston and the lines will match each other or
come very close.

Figure #3: Hysteresis of the Damper

ROEHRIG ENGINEERING INC.

WWW.ROEHRIGENGINEERING.COM
1-800-735-7265
5

ROEHRIG ENGINEERING TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING SERIES

WHY THERE IS A FORCE VALUE AT ZERO VELOCITY

Crank dyno testing versus real world

Here is some thing to remember through all of this: this effect is more a
result of a sine wave input than anything else. Your crank dyno inputs a sine wave
to your damper. If your input was instead a square wave, then all you would see is
a positive force in the direction of travel. On the car, say at the center of the turn,
the car is in a steady state condition, the damper is not moving very much. If it
then hits a bump, it would only be making compression force. However, since the
crank dyno uses a sine wave input, the rebound side can affect the compression
side of the graph. This is some of what you are seeing in the graph.
If you find any of these papers helpful or have further questions, email us to let us
know, feedback helps.
E-mail: Michael@roehrigengineering.com

ROEHRIG ENGINEERING INC.

WWW.ROEHRIGENGINEERING.COM
1-800-735-7265
6