Design Improvement of an Automotive Shock Absorber Component Subjected to Fretting Fatigue

A shock absorber endurance test for an automobile that was supposed to resist at least 200,000 load cycles but failed to meet the statutory fatigue limit was under examination. This is due to the breakdown of the assembly that holds the shock absorber shims. This failure occurred due to Fretting fatigue. A design improvement is being introduced to avoid fretting fatigue on the shock absorber shim assembly. FEA is used to investigate the shim assembly in order to locate the stress zone. After adding more shims to the piston, fatigue life was significantly improved. The damping forces were unaffected by the fundamental solution that was applied to make this improvement.