Optimal design of structure in rheological models: an automotive application to dampers with high viscosity silicone fluids

Dynamic torsional vibration dampers are for a long time inherent integral components of internal combustion engines. One of the most common types of the dynamic dampers is a silicone damper. It has been, for many years, perceived as an exclusively viscous damper, thus it has been constructed and designed according to this perception. When compared to other types of dynamic dampers of the similar size with flexible components used for their construction, the standard viscous damper has a lower damping effect. Moreover, this damper type has been a significantly cheaper and simpler solution. Current silicone oils with high nominal viscosity, having not only the expected damping properties, but also significant elastic characteristics under alternate shear stress, enable construction of dynamic dampers with a higher damping effect than a viscous damper. Frequency and temperature dependent complicated rheological properties of high viscosity silicone fluids can only be identified experimentally using a suitable dynamic viscometer. However, the measured frequency dependencies of both components of the complex shear modulus are only defined for harmonic loading while internal combustion engine load is periodic and contains several tens harmonics. The key to the solution is therefore to find suitable multiparameter rheological models comprised of linear elastic and damping elements that would approximate in the specified frequency range both components of the complex shear modulus. Such a complicated task can be solved using efficient optimization algorithms. This article focuses on the mathematical description of convolute rheological properties of high viscosity silicone liquids and also contains an example of the application of created rheological models in the complex dynamic model of a V10 diesel engine. A computational tool for the determination of stiffness and damping coefficients of the multi-parameter rheological model was created and solved in the optimization software GAMS by means of the CONOPT solver. The possibility of these modern technologies is shown by the comparison of computation models and experimentally set torsional vibration spectres with standard viscous damper and damper utilizing a high viscosity silicone oil.