New Generation of Flexible Elastomer Exhaust Decouplers: LINKEO™ System

When designing an exhaust suspension with a flexible exhaust decoupler, the design engineer may want to use the device to decouple motion of the powertrain from the exhaust system. Today, durability schedules and the limits of existing metallic components keep current market flexible decouplers' stiffnesses high. A new elastomer-based flex decoupler (LINKEO™) has the ability to keep stiffness low in order to minimize the transmission of engine motion to the exhaust system. This will aid designers in making the exhaust suspension stiffer thus minimizing the motion in the exhaust line. This could improve durability of the system, and will minimize the required underbody package space. NVH testing has shown that accelerations can be reduced by 8-12 dB at targeted rpm ranges.

Data will be presented to show how an insulated decoupler could favorably effect and improve emissions. Temperature resistance, durability, thermal performance, and NVH data will be shown and compared to existing metallic decouplers.