Aerowerx
Well-Known Member
I have been reading about coil type compression springs, with an application in landing gear shocks
Evidently you can stack multiple springs together to tailor the response.
An example, to make sure I understand how it works....
Lets say you have two springs both 2 inches long. One is rated at 50 pounds per inch and the other at 200 pounds per inch. So the first one (theoretically...I read where they aren't exactly linear) will compress 0.02 inches for each pound of pressure. The second 0.005 inches for each pound. It then takes 100 pounds to completely compress the first spring and 400 pounds for the second.
Now stack the two springs and apply 50 pounds pressure to the stack. The first spring will compress 1 inch and the second 0.25 inches, for a total of 1.25 inches, or 40 pounds per inch.
Apply 100 pounds. The first spring will be completely compressed and, with the wire thickness it will be fully compressed before you reach 100 pounds. The second spring will be compressed 0.5 inch.
At this point, the second spring will have another 1.5 inches of travel. As you apply more pressure above 100 pounds the stack then has the same response of the second spring by itself. In other words, 200 pounds per inch or an additional 300 pounds
Is my reasoning correct?
So by stacking two or more springs with different characteristics, you can tailor the response of your landing gear. The lower values for taxiing on grass, and the stiffer response for hard landings?
One thing I have not figured out is the effect on the spring of being completely compressed, since the catalogs list a suggested maximum compression.
Evidently you can stack multiple springs together to tailor the response.
An example, to make sure I understand how it works....
Lets say you have two springs both 2 inches long. One is rated at 50 pounds per inch and the other at 200 pounds per inch. So the first one (theoretically...I read where they aren't exactly linear) will compress 0.02 inches for each pound of pressure. The second 0.005 inches for each pound. It then takes 100 pounds to completely compress the first spring and 400 pounds for the second.
Now stack the two springs and apply 50 pounds pressure to the stack. The first spring will compress 1 inch and the second 0.25 inches, for a total of 1.25 inches, or 40 pounds per inch.
Apply 100 pounds. The first spring will be completely compressed and, with the wire thickness it will be fully compressed before you reach 100 pounds. The second spring will be compressed 0.5 inch.
At this point, the second spring will have another 1.5 inches of travel. As you apply more pressure above 100 pounds the stack then has the same response of the second spring by itself. In other words, 200 pounds per inch or an additional 300 pounds
Is my reasoning correct?
So by stacking two or more springs with different characteristics, you can tailor the response of your landing gear. The lower values for taxiing on grass, and the stiffer response for hard landings?
One thing I have not figured out is the effect on the spring of being completely compressed, since the catalogs list a suggested maximum compression.
