http://www.metaldyne.

com/silicone-testing/

Viscous Dampers - Silicone Testing

Normal Condition

Intermediate Condition

Requires Immediate Service

Emergency Condition

Most engines are fitted with one or two viscous shear type torsional vibration dampers attached
to the crankshaft at the opposite end to the flywheel.
Why are Dampers fitted?

The crankshaft damper is fitted to minimise the influence of torsional vibrations developing in
the crankshaft. This keeps material stresses arising from these vibrations within permissible
design limits. The damper, by reducing oscillations in the crankshaft to a low amplitude, prevents
premature failures of the driven equipment.
How does the Holset Viscous Damper work?
The damper absorbs torsional vibration energy by the shearing effect of a highly viscous silicone
fluid trapped between an inertia ring and the damper casing. The shearing of the fluid generates
heat which is dissipated through the external surfaces of the damper.
Condition Monitoring
Condition monitoring of the damper is an essential preventative maintenance practice. This
ensures the torsional vibration system of the vessel, generator or pump continues to function as
per the design calculations, thus preventing early life failures. The internal condition and
operating efficiency of the Holset viscous damper should be monitored by extracting small
samples (1cc.) of silicone fluid for laboratory analysis removal of a silicone fluid sample is a
simple process which should be initially carried out after 15,000 hours of engine operation or at
the first major engine service.
Metaldyne will advise subsequent sampling intervals via the analysis report. Special sampling
kits complete with instructions are available from Metaldyne Int UK Ltd or an appointed service
representative
Metaldyne reports satisfy Survey Societies requirements The Metaldyne laboratory report meets
all the requirements of major survey classification societies like Lloyds, ABS, DNV BV for
marine propulsion and auxiliary power installations at the 5 year survey.

Viscous Damper Industrial Applications

http://www.metaldyne.com/viscous-damper-industrial-applications/

Metaldyne is a well-established global leader in

the supply of viscous dampers with a renowned reputation for our technical capability and
quality product. Metaldyne offers the repair, support, service, and design of viscous torsional
vibration crankshaft and camshaft dampers to a large portfolio of customers.
Metaldyne specialises in the supply of low volume requirements, designing, manufacturing and
repairing of viscous dampers for niche engine markets without any restrictions of a large
organization. We specialize in the repair & service of viscous crankshaft dampers and camshaft
dampers worldwide for end users and engine manufactures.
List of Services

Designers and manufacturers of Torsional Viscous vibration engine dampers

Silicone fluid analysis testing & results report within 24 hours

Damper Repair offered worldwide

Off site damper repair / re-conditioning for dampers over 1.5 metre

Exchange dampers available

New dampers available

Metaldyne / Holset viscous dampers are our specialty but dampers manufactured by S.T.E. and
Hasse & Wrede can also be repaired.
Basic overhaul can be generally completed within 24 / 48 hours of arrival at our factory.

http://www.hassewrede.de/en/produkte/products.jsp

Torsional vibrations occur at the crankshafts of modern combustion engines. The sudden and
irregular impact of high torsional moments may lead to vibrations effecting the whole crankshaft
system and resulting in mechanical damages and noise. HASSE & WREDE Visco-Dampers
reduce torsional vibrations in crankshafts, camshafts, and injection pumps, prevent noise and
thereby guarantee a long and reliable motor performance.

http://www.metaldyne.com/viscous-damper-support/
Viscous Damper Support

Click here for handling large viscous dampers.

Click here for the operation of large viscous dampers.

Maintenance and Repair of Viscous dampers. The METALDYNE viscous damper has a design /
operating principle of using a high viscosity silicone fluid to generate damping torque by
shearing the thin film of fluid surrounding the inertia ring mass (flywheel).

As the engine speed changes to a point where torsional vibration is present, the crankshaft (and
hence the damper casing because of its attachment to the crankshaft) are subject to torsional
oscillation superimposed on the mean rotation. Because of its inertia, the flywheel (within the
casing) will continue to rotate at a more uniform velocity so that there is an oscillating relative
movement between the flywheel and casing.
Therefore, when torsional vibration is present, the fluid undergoes a shearing action absorbing
vibration energy which is dissipated as heat.
The high viscosity silicone fluid within the damper casing will, after constant heat absorption
during its service life, reduce in viscosity value and because of this, sampling plugs are fitted into
the cover plate and / or back face of the casing so that samples of fluid can be extracted for
analysis to determine the condition of the damper.
From this fluid analysis, the internal mechanical condition and operating efficiency of the
damper can be established, and Metaldyne will recommend the service period the damper can be
used before a further sample of fluid must be taken. If the reduction in fluid viscosity is
excessive, or the condition of the fluid indicates internal mechanical damage, the remaining safe
service period before overhaul of the damper becomes absolutely necessary will be advised.
New silicone fluid is a clear / colourless fluid and as a general guide, the following observations
when sampling may be of assistance.
1. Fluid colourless to light shades of yellow / brown, and free from particles. Usually indicates
no internal damage. Fluid viscosity will determine suitability of damper for further service
periods.
2. Fluid dark brown or black in colour, usually with particles in the fluid. As a general rule,
dampers with fluid in this condition have suffered internal mechanical damage and have
restricted remaining service life.
3. Dampers with gelled / solidified fluid are unsuitable for service and they should be removed
from service at the first convenient opportunity.
The service life of the damper can only be accurately established by fluid analysis, and torsional
testing of the engine will only indicate the condition of the damper at the actual time of testing.
Provided no internal damage has occurred, overhaul is recommended when the fluid has reduced
50% in viscosity value. At this stage, the damping efficiency will be 80%.
The average operating time to reach this condition is 25,000 / 30,000 hours, but it can be
influenced by engine application and loading as well as non-torsional factors associated with

then engines environment such as vibrations induced from adjacent machinery, engine
mountings, shafting systems and hull vibrations.
It is therefore recommended that the first fluid sample is extracted not later than 15,000 service
hours.
Examination of the first sample will enable METALDYNE to advise the subsequent sampling
intervals, and by following this procedure and our recommendations, the necessity for
overhauling or replacing the damper can be anticipated.

Torsional Vibration Dampers

Since our acquisition of ETV Damper Services Ltd, a highly skilled and dedicated company backed
by more than 25 years experience with the service department at Holset Engineering, we are now
proud to continue the excellent work performed by ETV.
Holset Engineering have been involved in the development and manufacture of torsional vibration dampers for
more than half a century, a few years ago ownership changed to Simpson International and more recently to
Metaldyne.KW Engineering is maintaining the techniques involved with the servicing of viscous dampers
pioneered by Holset and maintaining the same standards of responsibility and care required to ensure that a
serviced damper will be restored to a level of quality,performance and durability comparable to the original
damper.

We pride ourselves in being able to offer the highest level of quality and service in maintaining the protection
for which this product has been designed.Technical advances in diesel engine development over the
years,increases in speed level,and the use of turbochargers,which itself has become a major influence in adding
to the stresses of torsional vibration within the engine.
Protection against these harmful factors is provided mainly from torsional vibration dampers,and as far as
possible these devices have been improved to extend their durability and to meet the additional demands.

http://www.kwdieselengines.com/tv-dampers

In the case of viscous dampers,mechanical improvements have reduced the likelihood of unexpected
deterioration from bearing wear etc,but have also assisted in extending the useful life of the silicone fluid
which transforms the damaging vibrational energy into thermal energy by means of fluid shear.Gradually over
a period of time this shearing action affects the molecular structure of the fluid resulting in a reduction in the
effectiveness of the damper. It is therefore vitally important that the servicing of the damper is arranged before
this process has reached a point beyond which damage to the crankshaft and other vital items of transmission
can become a danger.

http://www.hassewrede.com/en/produkte/viscodmpfer/viscodmpfer_1.jsp

Torsional Visco-Dampers

Function
The viscous damper provides the necessary torsional vibration damping effect by resilient,
damped coupling of the secondary mass (inertia ring) to primary mass (housing). When the
crankshaft rotates uniformly - without any torsional vibration - the inertia ring in the housing is
driven round without any slippage occurring. However, as soon as - even at a very low stage the vibration amplitudes are superimposed, a relative movement is caused to take place between
housing and ring, which generates alternating stresses in the silicone film. The sum of these
stresses over the entire gap surface between inertia ring an housing results in a damping action.
Main advantages:

Exact predictable engine and damper behaviour using HASSE & WREDEs
calculating method for torsional vibration analysis

Specific damper tuning according to customer requirements

Damping on a broad frequency range

Provides noise reduction

Operating at higher temperature than other damper systems in its application

range

Compact size, integrated solutions with pulley and hub

Extended service life

Most cost effective solutions for high powered passenger cars, truck and
engines with higher output

http://www.hassewrede.com/en/produkte/viscodmpfer/designs/designs_1.jsp

Designs

Stand-alone Visco-Damper for commercial vehicle engine, 338 kW / 460 PS

Visco-Damper with integrated pulley and hub for commercial vehicle engine, 125 kW / 170 PS

Visco-Damper with integrated pulley and hub for commercial vehicle engine, 419 kW / 570 PS

High-Performance Visco-Damper for commercial vehicle engine, 375 kW / 510 PS

Visco-Damper for passenger car engine, 450 kW / 612 PS

Visco-Damper for passenger car engine, 230 kW / 313 PS

High-Performance Visco-Damper with aluminium case for industrial engine, 4.060 kW / 5.520
PS

High-Performance Visco-Damper for industrial engine, 1.870 kW / 2.540 PS

Jumbo-Damper for 2-stroke ship engine, 80.080 kW / 108.900 PS

Visco-Damper with decoupled pulley

The Visco-Damper with integrated decoupled pulley is a compact solution for decoupling
torsional vibrations between crankshaft and pulley and reducing torsional vibrations of the
crankshaft at the same time.
The pulley is connected to the hub by a highly flexible elastomer coupling and supported by a
maintenance-free bearing.
Main Advantages:

Decoupling of torisonal vibrations within the entire rotational speed range

Optimal damping by appropriate choice of rubber material

Low moment of inertia at the front end of the crankshaft

No inherent noise

Low total weight

Full torque transmission

http://riverhawk.com/bolt-loading/

How It Works: Viscous Dampers, A.K.A. Harmonic

Balancers

The How It Works series is meant to take a deep dive into a specific product to give you the best
understanding of what is really going on, how it works, and why it works. In this months article,
we tackle viscous crankshaft dampers, also known as harmonic balancers by turning to Brian
LeBarron and his team of experts at Fluidampr. While nearly every engine today runs one, most
people dont really know how they work or when to upgrade them.
Steady RPM, is there such a thing?
Whether you have thought about it or not, there is no such thing as steady RPM in a piston
driven engine. I can hold my engine at 2,000 rpms and my tach doesnt move you say. Steady
RPM is relative. The slower you observe things, the steadier they appear. If you only look out
your window once a day, say at 12 pm, you could conclude that the sun is always directly
overhead. However, if you look out the window more frequently, then you would see the sun
isnt always in the same spot. The same is true with your engine. If you only look at the
rotational speed every minute, you can probably average right around 2,000 revolutions per
minute. If you look at rotational speed every second, you may still find that the rotational speed
is roughly the same. At a hundredth of a second, you will notice the crank shaft speeding up and
slowing down but it really isnt until we dive down into the thousands of a second or faster that
we can see the speed changes of the crank shaft.
What is causing this unsteady RPM?

As each combustion event happens, the rotational speed increases. But, as the combustion event
ends or slows down, the rotational speed slows down. There is this constant speed up and slow
down happening as an engine is running and the more cylinders the engine has, the more
frequent this happens but with a less dramatic of an effect. An engine with fewer cylinders will
have less frequent speed up events, but they will be more dramatic.

Animation of a crankshaft with 108.476 Hz of harmonic distortion.

Harmonics
Harmonics can be thought of as pitches or frequencies. For example, if you have ever heard a
wind chime made out of little metal tubes, then you have heard the difference in noises the
different tubes make. These noises sound different because they are at a different frequency and
we can only hear a relatively small range of frequencies. There are frequencies much lower than
we can hear and much higher than we can hear. Therefore, we use instrumentation to pick up
these frequencies and report what they are. Just because you cannot hear something, doesnt
mean there isnt a frequency associated with it.
In an engine, there are a lot of things going on and pretty much everything is emitting a
frequency. Since this article is focusing on engine harmonics, lets limit our focus on the rotating
assembly of the engine. The rotating assembly for most engines is comprised of a single crank
shaft, one rod per cylinder, two rod bolts per rod, one piston per cylinder, multiple rings, one
piston pin per piston, and two snap rings to hold the pin.

This is a good example of what can happen when harmonics reach harmful levels.
When assembling an engine, all OEMs and most engine builders will balance these components
to move the center of mass to the center of the rotational axis (essentially, when you spin the
crank, the crank doesnt feel any forces other than rotation). That being said, there are two types
of balancing: internally balanced (meaning the rotating assembly is balanced without the use of
an external balancer or flywheel) and externally balanced (meaning the balancer and/or flywheel
have counter weights to help neutrally balance the crank). No matter which type of balancing, it
is almost impossible to get the rotating assembly 100% neutrally balanced. The last engine we
had balanced was off 0.28 grams in the front and 0.24 in the rear (which is pretty good overall).

Having a rotating assembly

balanced is only part of the story. If there was nothing going on inside of an engine and all it did
was spin, then having a balanced assembly would be good enough. But, engines are only useful
if they are producing work or power. To create the power that we yearn for, we compress air, add
fuel, and wait for combustion! The act of compressing air puts an external force on the crank
although this force is mild compared to the combustion which follows. Combustion not only puts
an external load on the crank like the compression (just MUCH larger), but the force is so great
that the crank actually elastically deforms (bends and twists, but fully recovers after combustion)
each time combustion happens (like a rubber band).

To help minimize the deformation, main caps are used. These mains, help to reduce the
leverage and greatly reduce the amount of twist and bending that the crank experiences. If there
was only a front and rear main, the crankshaft wouldnt make it through a full dyno run. There
would be so much deformation that the front and/or rear main would give way resulting in a
catastrophic failure.
Each time there is a combustion event, all of this twisting and bending happens. Assuming we
are only focusing on four stroke engines, an eight cylinder engine deforms at least four times per
rotation (three times for a six cylinder). It is the end-to-end twist and rebound of the crankshaft
created by internal combustion that creates the harmonics, said Brian LeBarron, Marketing
Specialist for Fluidampr. The combustion process exerts a whole lot of force around each crank
web. It is going to actually twist the metal ahead of itself. Just like a spring, it will snap back and
that is what creates these torsional vibration or harmonic frequencies that travel back and forth
through the crankshaft. These harmonics, if kept under control have very little effect on the
main bearings and other components because they are designed to work within a certain range of
harmonics. If not kept under control, these harmonics can have tremendous effects on the main
bearings and surrounding components.
If these frequencies get close to the natural frequency of the assembly, then the wear on the
components increases tremendously. (The natural frequency is the frequency that will resonate
throughout the assembly almost uncontrollably; usually causing tremendous oscillation and
eventual failure.)

Fluidampr worked with Bully Dog to check the levels of the major three OEM engines a few
years ago. Not surprising, the factory Duramax crankshaft experiences extremely dangerous
harmonics. This is certainly a contributing factor to the crankshaft breakage issue the Duramax
engines experience.
So, how does my engine survive?
Whether you are aware of it or not, there are a few things going on to control these frequencies.
First, all OEMs use a damper on their engines. There are different types (discussed later), but
they will all have some sort of device that reduces harmonics. Another key component assisting
in managing the harmonics would be the remaining drivetrain components. Flywheels (especially
dual mass flywheels), torque converters, clutches, and transmissions all have a fair amount of
mass that rotates along with the engine. This mass helps to reduce the harmonics by absorbing

some of the energy that is producing the harmonics in the first place. As each of the combustion
events happen, the harmonics are dampened by this additional rotational mass.

Damper or Balancer?
In the purest sense of the word, a balancer only has counter weights to balance the rotational
assembly. Therefore, an externally balanced engine (like the Power Stroke and Duramax) uses
weights on the flywheel in back and on the balancer in the front. The flywheel could be
considered a balancer too as LeBarron added, they are essentially the same thing. Balancers
have been integrated into dampers. A key function dampers play, is to dampen the torsional
vibration (as LeBarron alluded to earlier). So, adding the needed counter weights to balance the
engine simplified the process on an externally balanced engine.
There are basically two types of dampers available today. There is a tuned elastomer and a
viscous design, said LeBarron. In the everyday consumer world the most common type of
damper is an elastomer type.
Elastomer Dampers

This is an example of an elastomer damper. Notice the main hub in the center has a thick black
ring around it and then the outer pulley. The thick black ring is the elastomer. On the bottom,
connected to the pulley is the inertia ring. The 4 holes are for balancing.
The basic stock elastomer damper has a hub that is connected to the crankshaft and some sort of
elastomer (usually a rubber compound according to LeBarron) bonded to this hub. Bonded to the
outside of the elastomer is an inertia ring which is a thick heavy ring with a specific amount of
mass (designed specifically for the engine it is going on). As the engine rotates, the whole
assembly rotates as one unit. When a combustion event happens and these harmonics reach a set
narrow frequency, the inertia ring resonates on the elastomer causing it to twist and rebound in
response to the speed of the rotating assembly. The motion of the damper mass reduces the small
band containing the worst harmonics.
The elastomer deforms during this event. The part of the elastomer connected to the hub, speeds
up with the hub and the part of the elastomer connected to the inertia ring moves the slower
speed of the ring. The difference in these two rotational speeds is the amount of energy that is
being put into the elastomer.
Viscous Dampers, A.K.A. Fluid Dampers
The other common type of damper is a viscous damper. A viscous damper has a sealed outer
housing with a precision machined hub. Inside of the housing is an inertia ring with a viscous
fluid (Fluidampr uses specialized silicone) filling the cavity.

The silicone the Fluidampr uses is extremely thick. See how the silicone folds back and forth on
itself almost like a ribbon. If you do this with oil or most other lubricants, it just pools at the
bottom.
To really understand what is going on and how a viscous damper works, we need to first explain
what shear is. Shear itself can be described as the normal force resisting movement. In fluid
mechanics, shear () is equal to the viscosity () multiplied by the change in velocity per distance
( = *[dv/dy] ). While you dont necessarily need to understand what this equation is, it is
important to take away a few key points. First, the greater the viscosity the greater the shear
force and secondly, as the change in velocity increases, so does the shear force (note, it is the rate
of change in velocity, not the velocity itself).
With a viscous damper, the hub and outer ring are moving with the crankshaft since they are
directly connected to it. The inner fluid and inertia ring are moving only because of the shear

force. As the crank rotates, the shear force is great enough to keep the fluid and inertia ring still
relative to the outer ring (meaning everything is rotating at the same speed). As a combustion
event happens, the harmonics oscillate the outer ring. The frequencies of these oscillations are
high enough to create a rapid change in velocity which causes the free rotating internal inertia
ring to be at a different speed than the outer ring. The fluid in-between the inertia ring and outer
ring experiences a shear force that opposes the harmonics and helps to dissipate the harmonic
energy as heat.
The silicone we use is on average 45,000 times thicker than 30 weight oil Brian LeBarron
The silicone we use is on average 45,000 times thicker than 30 weight oil, stated LeBarron.
This results in a very high viscosity. This high viscosity acts as a multiplier to the shear force. As
the change in velocity increases, it is being multiplied by this high viscosity resulting in a very
high shear force. Another reason we use silicone is because of its thermal stability over a wide
temperature range. The temperature range is -40 to 300 Fahrenheit meaning it can be used in
very extreme temperature conditions and it remains an excellent dissipater of heat. Heat is a byproduct of damping harmonics and dissipating that heat away from the damping medium is
critical for proper functioning of the damper over time.
The problem comes in when you start doing performance modifications to the engine. Anything
that is going to add more power to the system or change the composition of the rotating assembly
[rebuilding an engine with oversized pistons, upgrading the pistons and/or rods, etc] is going to
compromise the stock elastomer damper. If you add more torque, it is going to start over working
the rubber. Additionally, if you change the rotating assembly you will likely fall outside of the
range that the damper is tuned for, which doesnt leave you with much protection.
With a fluid damper, the shear forces are acting anytime the crank is rotating. Once the
harmonics get above a level to create a difference in rotational speed between the inertia ring and
the outer ring, the damper is damping (which is most of the time). As a result, Fluidampr claims
a viscous damper will effectively control destructive torsional vibration through the entire RPM
range of the engine, not just a specific range. Viscous dampers arent tuned for a specific narrow
band frequency. Because the inertia ring can freely rotate through the housing, it isnt limited by
the elasticity of the rubber.
If they are that good, why arent they standard on all OEM engines?

Production of any mass produced

item usually comes down to trade offs. One of the biggest tradeoffs is cost vs. quality. If you can
design a part to work with something that is cheaper, then you design it for something that is
cheaper. When durability matters more, then you spend more. Such cases are often found in
industrial applications. Many OEMs for heavy duty diesel engine use viscous dampers because
these machines power our economy and are subjected to very harsh conditions and are relied
upon for business. Breaking or down time must be minimized.
Companies like Fluidampr manufactures their dampers to a higher machining and balancing
tolerance than OEM specs. In addition, their performance diesel line of dampers are all SFI
certified for competition use (spun up and held at 12,500 rpms for at least one hour).
Over the years, light truck manufacturers have constantly scoured over their costs to produce a
vehicle trying to pull out every last penny. For the mass produced vehicles from two of the big
three, the cost doesnt warrant the investment.

Each component of Fluidamprs viscous damper is precision made. Here a laser is cutting the
housing covers.

So, who can benefit from them?

Anyone who values the long-term durability and efficiency of their diesel trucks engine can
benefit from upgrading their stock damper to a Fluidampr Performance Diesel damper. Even
under stock conditions, Fluidampr told us tests have shown Fluidampr to reduce torsional
vibration and unleash torque and horsepower throughout the rpm range that were being lost to
unnecessary vibration.

Unlike a stock OEM damper, Fluidamprs dampers dont seem to deteriorate in storage. Above is
the test results from Harry Luzaders damper that had been in storage for over 25 years. Notice
the sharp reduction in vibration amplitudes.
For the performance guys, yes, you should look at upgrading your stock damper to a
performance damper early in the process. The increased performance means more force pushing
down on the piston which creates more deformation within the crank and greater harmonics.
These increased harmonics can easily start getting into a range that can lead to damage. As
LeBarron mentioned above, increased torque can overwork the factory damper.
Things to look for if you have a stock damper
The biggest tip we tell everybody is to periodically check the harmonic balancer.- Brian
LeBarron
The biggest tip we tell everybody is to periodically check the harmonic balancer. Early signs of
problems would be cracking rubber. More advanced signs would be bulging and missing rubber.
That is a damper that is about give away, cautioned LeBarron. The last thing you want going

down the road is for that inertia ring to separate and grenade inside of your engine bay or to
experience catastrophic engine failure from a broken crankshaft.
Final thoughts
This is probably one of the easiest components to overlook. Not only is it out of sight most of the
time, but none of us really think about harmonics as we try and lay down that big number or pull
ahead of the guy next to us. We all work our trucks in various ways and never really think about
harmonics. Hopefully this How It Works article changes that.
Let us know what you think!

http://www.dieselarmy.com/engine-tech/engine/how-it-works-viscous-dampers-a-k-aharmonic-balancers/

EngineLabs: Basically, what is torsional vibration and how do you measure and analyze it?
Neyman: Torsional vibration is the speed fluctuation of a rotating shaft. Think of it as the
vibration you feel in your steering wheel when you apply the brakes and have a warped rotor, but
the steering wheel is continuously rotating at the same time. Torsional vibration can have two
components, twist and rigid body motion.

In an engine lab torsional vibration is determined by RPM fluctuation in picoseconds using a

high resolution laser tachometer and then translated with an FFT analyzer. On the test stand is a
modified Honda F22C engine found in a race driven S2000 being tested with a Fluidampr
installed.
Twist is the kind of vibration that is expected when you think of crankshaft torsional vibration.
From one end of the shaft to another the vibration amplitudes change direction. When this
happens there is a point where there is no vibration amplitude. This is called a nodal point. The
material stresses are the highest at a nodal point. Rigid body motion is when the rotating shaft
has torsional vibration but there is no nodal point along the shaft. The vibration does not change
direction. When testing Fluidampr applications, torsional vibration is measured with a highresolution laser tachometer, a high-resolution gear-tooth sensor, or an incremental encoder, on
either end of the crankshaft. The data is recorded on a multiple picosecond FFT analyzer that
converts the rpm fluctuation data into the angular domain. This provides us data in terms of
degrees of twist or degrees of roll per rpm and can be broken down by vibration orders. Orders
come into play because you have multiple cylinders firing causing multiple initial and harmonic

torsional vibration events during each revolution of the crankshaft. Resonant frequencies can
also be determined from the collected data and are used to properly size a damper for the
application.
EngineLabs: What is the basic design difference between a viscous damper and one that
utilizes elastomer construction?
Neyman: The basic difference is the way a viscous damper reduces torsional vibration
amplitudes. Stock elastomer dampers function by going into resonance at a specific frequency
and remove the vibration energy from the system by the opposing motion of the damping mass.
The more accurate name is a tuned vibration absorber.

Viscous dampers remove vibration energy from the system by shearing a free rotating inertia ring
back and forth through a highly viscous silicone fluid. This converts the vibration energy into
heat, which is easily dissipated through the sealed inertia ring housing. This method provides
highly durable broad band damping and the necessary protection as engine modifications change
torsional vibration characteristics.
A tuned absorber only removes vibration energy at the specific resonance frequency band. It is
designed with a specific amount of mass and a specific elastomer durometer to deal with the
worst engine resonance and to withstand the heat that is generated from the opposing motion.
Over time the heat cycles degrade the elastomer and reduce the efficiency of the tuned
absorber. Viscous dampers remove vibration energy from the system by shearing a free rotating
inertia ring back and forth through a highly viscous silicone fluid. This converts the vibration
energy into heat, which is easily dissipated through the sealed inertia ring housing. The viscous
damper housing is designed with enough heat transfer area to reach a stabilization temperature

that the damper does not exceed. Because of this, the damper does not lose efficiency over time
in automotive applications. Another advantage of the viscous damper design is that it allows the
free rotating inertia ring to convert vibration energy to heat across a broad frequency
range. Superior engine protection, broad range performance and durability are why you will find
a viscous damper as original equipment in cars and trucks like the Dodge Ram with the 6.7L
Cummins and Audi R8 V10. Plus, nearly all high power engines that we depend on to move our
economy are protected with a viscous damper. In those industries and applications it is less about
cost and more about quality and dependability.
EngineLabs: What do you mean by broad band versus narrow band protection?
Neyman: Just like it sounds. The frequency range that a tuned absorber is effective is simply a
narrow band, usually 50Hz in range. The absorber is tuned to the harshest frequency range of the
engine as it leaves the factory. Once anything is changed on the engine, especially the rotating
assembly, the harsh frequency band will shift. A viscous damper operates across a broad
frequency range because the inertia ring is not bonded to the damper housing. This allows the
effective frequency range to be more of a broad bell curve and provide the necessary protection
as engine modifications are made.

High power engines with long strokes typically require a larger damper. A Fluidampr
performance damper for a Honda K series engine sits on top of a Vibratech TVD (parent
company) damper. The Vibratech TVD heavy-duty viscous damper measures 4.7 feet in diameter

and weighs 6,700 pounds. It is used on a continuous running 12,000-horsepower compressor

station found in the natural gas industry.
EngineLabs: What are the tradeoffs in choosing between a lighter or heavier damper?
Neyman: Dampers are not the same as pulleys and hubs. Pulleys and hubs are generally kept as
light as possible to reduce the weight of the rotating assembly. Dampers should not be treated the
same way. Dampers are heavier because they contain a critical amount of weight that is needed
to perform the work required to remove vibration energy from the engine. The more inertia
weight present, the more amplitude reduction potential is available. High cubic inch engines with
long strokes should have larger dampers than short stroke, low displacement engines. There is
always a balancing point with weight. It is critical to not overload the crankshaft nose with so
much weight that it causes runout, but it is also critical to use enough weight to effectively
control torsional vibrations. When selecting a damper it is always best to contact Fluidampr if
you have questions about what size and weight to run.

The result (of the Honda tests shown above) is a highly detailed 3D torsional vibration map
across the rpm range by vibration order. Large industrial and over-the-road diesel engine
manufacturers require that any individual torsional vibration order be less than 0.25 degrees
peak, in order for their engines to reach rebuild intervals of 500,000 to 1,000,000 miles.
Automotive OEM applications tend to be less stringent about torsional vibration control, with
OEM applications sometimes in excess of 0.75 degrees peak. Even stock applications can benefit
from a Fluidampr performance damper. A viscous damper can be found as original equipment in
high quality automobiles and diesel trucks such as the Audi R8 V10 and Ram 6.7L Cummins.
Comparative testing can also be performed on a dyno. The broad band damping abilities of a
Fluidampr performance damper often shows as an increased, smoother torque curve through the
rpm range.
EngineLabs: Are there special challenges in developing dampers for diesel applications?

Neyman: Diesel applications tend to have more vibration due to their nature. Over the past 15 or
so years weve seen remarkable advancements in clean diesel technology. Techniques that were
just now starting to see cross over to stock automotive gas engines. To achieve significant
reductions in nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) in diesel, first cleaner in-cylinder
combustion was addressed before selective catalyst reduction (SCR) systems were introduced.
Today, cylinder mean effective pressure is raised significantly to achieve a more efficient cleaner
combustion. Sky-high direct fuel injection pressure with multiple computer controlled fuel pulses
per combustion cycle, plus higher turbo induction boost and optimized compression ratios above
16:1 are all utilized. When you factor in larger rotating and reciprocating components and a
longer crankshaft in the case of popular inline-6 engines, it all contributes to higher vibration
amplitudes. As diesel motorsports has proven, besides a cleaner burn, these advancements also
allow you to get crazy power out of a smaller displacement engine. Fluidampr Performance
Diesel dampers are the official damper of DIESEL Motorsports and the choice of many top
teams in diesel drag racing and sled pulling because of the broad band vibration control and
superior durability.

http://www.enginelabs.com/engine-tech/engine-harmonics/tech5-aaron-neyman-offluidampr-sheds-light-on-torsional-vibrations/

Viscous Torsional Damper Brochure

Viscous torsional dampers are vital components for protection of engine and reciprocating
compressor crankshafts against fatigue failures.
Lo-Rez standard or custom dampers (5 to 50 diameter) are normally available with thickwalled and bolted aluminum alloy housings to resist denting and provide good heat dissipation,
as well as overhaul capability.

They are made in both regular (traditional) untuned as well as mechanically-tuned version.
Finned covers by Lo-Rez provide up to 50% less heat rise than plain covers, thus improving
performance as well as useful TBO extension.

http://www.lo-rez.com/viscous-torsional-damper-brochure/

All reciprocating systems have torsional

vibration that is independent of balancing. At
torsional resonant frequencies any excitation
can result in large amplitudes of vibration. If a
resonant frequency lands within the operating
range, equipment damage is likely to result
from the high vibration. For this reason the
best approach is usually to tune the system so
that the low-order resonant speed is below the
minimum operating speed. Lo-Rez Steel
Spring soft couplings provide a high degree of
torsional flexibility between the driving and
driven halves of a system, resulting in a low
natural frequency, as shown in Fig. 1 and 2.
Please, click on the image to expand Fig 1
and 2.
It is necessary to understand the characteristics
of a system in order to optimally tune it with
the correct coupling. Lo-Rez offers customers
the capability of torsional vibration analysis for
this purpose.
In addition to torsional vibration analyses,
solid body dynamics and other vibration
capabilities are available in-house. For
upgrades to existing systems, Lo-Rez
personnel are available for instrumentation
work in the field, allowing a correlation of test
results with analytical studies.

http://www.lo-rez.com/design-support/

What Is A Harmonic Balancer, aka Crankshaft Damper?

A harmonic balancer reduces destructive crankshaft torsional

vibration, which is the end-to-end twisting/rebound motion, that is naturally generated

during each power stroke. A harmonic balancer contributes to greater valve train and
timing efficiency, plus reduces wear of critical engine components such as main
bearings, oil pump and the crankshaft itself.
A harmonic balancer often incorporates the main drive pulley and by appearance is
often overlooked as having no essential function to the life of the engine. If the drive
pulley is incorporated with the harmonic balancer, removing or changing it to a
lightweight design, or using a low quality product MAY BE THE SINGLE BIGGEST
COSTLY MISTAKE YOU CAN DO TO YOUR ENGINE.

Why Do I Need A Performance Harmonic Balancer, aka Crankshaft Damper

Performance parts that increase torque, such as intake, exhaust, cams, and ECM changes
typically cause an increase in torsional vibration magnitude, but keep frequency the same.
Evidence that your stock harmonic balancer is not performing adequately will be cracked,
bulging or missing rubber between the hub and outer ring. This is caused by excessive heat
retention, over stretching and age. A common failure will be the outer ring separating from the
hub causing damage inside the engine bay. Most race sanctioning bodies require a SFI 18.1 spec
damper as a safety caution.
Performance parts related to the rotating assembly, such as rods, pistons, crank,
flywheel/flexplate usually changes both torsional vibration magnitude and frequency. A stock
harmonic balancer typically is only tuned for a 50hz peak variance. Move beyond its parameters
and it may leave your critical engine components unprotected when torsional vibration is at its
peak.
Due to the countless combinations of performance upgrades the simplest and more
effective solution is to install a Fluidampr performance damper. By design, Fluidampr protects
across a broad frequency and can become more effective as magnitude increases. The earlier a
Fluidamper performance damper is installed, the more youll benefit from the protection,
performance and durability in the long run.

How Does A Fluidampr Damper Work?

Unlike a stock elastomer harmonic balancer, Fluidampr

performance dampers protect across a broad frequency range and can become more effective as
magnitude increases throughout your RPM range. Each Fluidampr performance damper is
designed for the engine application it is intended for.
Fluidampr performance dampers consist of a free rotating inertia ring inside a laser sealed outer
housing within tight tolerance of each other. Both the inertia ring and the outer housing are
computer balanced to exceed OEM specifications during manufacturing. Between the two, an
area referred to as the shear gap is pressure injected with viscous silicone. This specialized
silicone maintains stability across an extreme temperature range and provides superior heat
dissipation.
As soon as your engine fires torsional vibration is present. To damp its destructive effects, the
outer housing turns at engine RPM, while the inner inertia ring immediately self-centers and is
free to be shocked by each torsional vibration event. As the inner inertia ring moves in-and-out
of RPM with the outer housing, the shearing force through the silicone transforms the vibration
to heat, which rapidly dissipates through the housing. Since the mass of the inertia ring is
engulfed in a thin film of silicone and not directly connected to the crank, it can be calculated
that only 2/3 of the total Fluidampr weight is rotating at RPM. For example, a 7.9lb Fluidampr
for a Chevy LS1 only feels 5.3lbs at rpm.

The Fluidampr design originated from top race engine builders requesting Vibratech TVD
(formally Houdialle and parent company to Fluidampr) to bring its viscous damper technology
engineered for long-life, high power diesel applications to professional motorsports in the early1980s to replace failing elastomer designs. Viscous torsional dampers are used today as original
equipment on select luxury sportscars, light-duty diesel trucks and even military spec engines.
Meanwhile, nearly all high power engines that move our economy depend on a viscous damper
for superior protection, performance and durability.

When To Upgrade Your Harmonic Balancer

The harmonic damper protects from destructive crankshaft torsional vibration that occurs
naturally from internal combustion and improves overall efficiency. Properly controlling
torsional vibration increases torque and horsepower, improves main bearing life and valve train
operation, plus reduces the risk of crank failure.

When To Upgrade Your Harmonic Balancer

The majority of passenger car and light trucks come equipped with an elastomer style harmonic
balancer. These low-cost, rubber-based OEM harmonic balancers are tuned from the factory to
protect only a narrow band of the worst harmonics and are intended for stock conditions.
Performance upgrades that increase torque such as an air kit, exhaust, tuner and injectors or
carburetor will increasingly accelerate elastomer harmonic balancer failure. Performance
upgrades that change the composition of the rotating assembly such as, pistons, rods and
flexplate/clutch or flywheel/torque converter will cause the OEM damper to be out-of-tune to
provide optimum protection.

The harmonic balancer is a fundamental building block of engine performance. An upgrade

should be done in conjunction with your basic air kit, exhaust, and tuner setup for optimum long
term performance. If you have already performed this set up without upgrading, then the stock
harmonic balancer is working harder to compensate for the added torque. Routinely inspect the
rubber layer of the stock harmonic balancer for signs of cracked, bulging or missing rubber.
These signs indicate that an elastomer harmonic balancer is deteriorating and may not be
properly protecting your engine. Elastomer harmonic balancer age, exposure to the elements,
oils and solvents, and excessive towing/hauling will also accelerate the breakdown of the rubber
layer.

Cracked, bulging and missing rubber are early warning signs that your stock elastomer style
harmonic balancer needs to be upgraded to a viscous damper.

Beyond a basic performance set up, a broad band viscous damper upgrade, such as a Fluidampr
performance damper is a requirement and needs to be installed with any rotating assembly
changes. The reason is that different pistons, rods, crank, flywheel/torque converter or
flexplate/clutch will potentially shift the damaging harmonics out-of-range of where the stock
tuned elastomer harmonic balancer is designed to protect. By design, a viscous damper provides
long lasting protection across a broad range of harmonics and is the most cost effective
approach. Only a professional torsional vibration analysis based on your specific parts
combination will determine the durometer needed for other aftermarket o-ring based
performance dampers, then rountine o-ring replacement is required.

Where To Buy Fluidampr Performance Dampers

Fluidampr performance dampers are sold through quality performance service shops and parts
retailers. Click here to find one near you. If you have questions or need assistance, Fluidampr
technical support is available 8:00am 4:30pm EST, Monday through Friday at
592-1000 FREE or email here.

Inside a Fluidampr performance damper.

Fluidampr vs Elastomer (rubber)

(716)

Fluidampr performance dampers are an upgrade to stock

elastomer style harmonic balancers. Stock elastomer harmonic balancers are designed to be cost
effective under original engine conditions and are cheap for mass production. Elastomer
harmonic balancers use a tuned rubber strip bonded between a hub and outer interia ring. When
a predetermined peak vibration resonates the rubber strip, it throws the inertia ring to counteract
the twisting/rebounding of the crankshaft. Frequency range is determined by the durometer of
the rubber, while the amount of throw is determined by its elasticity and inertia mass bonded to
it.

A stock elastomer damper is limited to function within the narrow predetermined frequency
range under stock conditions. Performance parts that increase torque, such as air kits, exhaust,
cams, ECM tuners may cause the damper to overwork itself. As the damper works harder, heat
generated becomes trapped longer in the rubber. Since rubber is a poor dissipater of heat it will
dry crack and/or heat bulge. As the rubber loses durometer and elasticity its ability to protect the
engine diminishes with the real possibility of catastrophic failure. A common safety hazard
found in street performance and racing occurs when the outer ring separating from the hub and
launches inside the engine bay.

Uncontrolled torsional vibration can also accelerate the wear of main bearings, timing
components and even break the crankshaft. A simple preventative maintenance tip is to routinely
inspect an elastomer damper for cracked, bulging or missing rubber. Some manufacturers even
recommend this in their Owners Manual.

A more severe and unnoticeable shortcoming is when rotating assembly parts such as the pistons,
rods, flywheel/flexplate or crankshaft are changed. This will cause a change in the assemblys

resonate frequency and may negate the effectiveness of the damper during peak torsional
vibration altogether. Your first sign of an incorrect harmonic balancer could be a broken crank.

Why would you install a performance damper made from the same materials that cause an OEM
elastomer harmonic balancer to fail in the first place?

Fluidampr is a performance viscous damper. Viscous dampers remove vibration energy from the
system by shearing a free rotating inertia ring back and forth through a highly viscous silicone
fluid. This converts the vibration energy into heat, which is easily dissipated through the sealed
inertia ring housing. A free rotating inertia ring adds an extra advantage of controlling torsional
vibration across a broad frequency range and provides the necessary protection as engine
modifications are made.

Superior engine protection, broad range performance and durability are why you will find a
viscous damper as original equipment in high quality sports cars and diesel trucks, such as the
V10 equipped Audi R8 & Lamborghini Gallardo, and the Ram 6.7L Cummins. Plus, nearly all
high power engines that we depend on to move our economy are protected with a viscous
damper.

Back to The Technology Behind Fluidampr

Why Does Fluidampr Use Silicone?

The engineers at Vibratech TVD, the parent company of Fluidampr

and inventor of the viscous torsional vibration damper, have perfected the use of
silicone for over 65 years. Without looking, some assume the fluid in a Fluidampr
should be like motor oil or hydraulic shock fluid because thats what is commonly used
in other fluid dampening devices. This leads some to believe that our silicone turns to a
gel over time after cutting a used one open. However, this is torsional vibration from
internal combustion were dealing with. The silicone Fluidampr uses is 45,000 times
more viscous than 30W motor oil!

Truth is, its a gel when we precisely fill the damper housing on the assembly line and it
needs to be a gel to do its job. Fluidampr performance dampers and Vibratech TVD
heavy duty dampers are rated to -40oF. They can be found protecting engines in the
frigid cold of the Alaskan oil fields, to the non-stop abuse of heavy construction
equipment, to the blistering heat of the race track. Viscous engine dampers are the
preferred choice for premium engine builders and are stock equipment in supercars
such as the Audi R8 and Lamborghini Gallardo.

How Performance Parts Increase Engine Vibration

Torque is created by the piston and rod weight, bore diameter, stroke length, valve
timing, air flow, fuel ratio, ignition timing, and compression ratio. Change any of these
characteristics from stock for performance and you are applying more force against the
crankshaft, therefore generating more severe torsional vibrations. Apply more torque
into top end horsepower and you take those more severe torsional vibrations and
amplify the frequency.
If increased engine vibration is not compensated for, through using a performance
damper such as a Fluidampr, it can lead to quicker destruction of main bearings, timing
components, valve train components, belts and accessory pulleys, even catastrophic
crankshaft failure.

Harmonic Balancer & Drive Pulley Weight Is A Good Thing

The weight and density of the damper, even if it is just a crank pulley, is essential to the
performance of protecting your engine against torsional vibration. Back to the analogy
of the punching bag in How Does A Fluidampr Works. The torsional vibration energy
created with every power stroke of your engine is repeatedly punching the crankshaft
damper. When you hit a light weight punching bag it does not absorb much force. In
fact it swings away and right back at you. Or in the instance of your crankshaft, sends
the torsional vibration right back through the crankshaft to do damage. When you hit a
heavy weight punching bag it absorbs a lot of energy and doesnt budge. Inertia mass
and stopping this destructive force is what a quality damper is designed to do. For any
damper to effectively prevent damage to your engine, it must have some weight behind
it. Just like a big heavy punching bag.
Our engineers design for superior torsional vibration control across the entire rpm range
and optimal weight. In a Fluidampr the inertia ring mass is free floating within the
housing. Once the crankshaft starts rotating centrifugal force and torsional vibration
takes the weight of the internal interia ring off the crankshaft. This does allow the
engine to rev faster. Youll notice two weights listed in our catalogs, overall weight and

rotating weight. In engine building, rotating weight is the more important number to
focus on.

Fluidampr Dampers Performance over 6,000 RPM

the damper is engineered to allow for quick acceleration and the

rapid increase in torsional vibration frequency associated with higher rpms.
There is a clerical difference between meets SFI standards and SFI certified. The
former means we construct our Streetdampers to the same rigorous standards as those
that are SFI Certified. The later means, we have worked diligently with SFI Foundation
Inc., who sets the rules and regulations for most racing organizations, to have our Race
Series dampers independently tested, officially certified and regularly scrutinized by
SFI. SFI Certified is a very scientific and costly endeavor to ensure that the
construction of our product will hold up in the racing world.
Regardless of terminology, the engine owner wins because our Streetdampr are
manufactured to the same high level race quality outlined by the SFI Foundation Inc.

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What SFI 18.1 Certified Means

Section 18.1 refers to Crankshaft Hub Harmonic Dampers. Article 3.0 Construction,
dictates that the damper shall be constructed in such a manner that the inertia devices
shall not become disengaged during use For inertia disc style dampers, the
containment device must cover a minimum of 50 percent of the cavity containing the
disc. The thickness of the containment material must be a minimum of 0.062 inch steel
or 0.180 inch aluminum. Article 5.1.3 B Testing Procedure mandates that The damper
shall be driven to a rotational speed between 12,500 and 13,500 rpm and maintained at
that level for one hour. Furthermore, the steel of a SFI certified Fluidampr housing
must meet a minimum 40,000psi yield strength and 60,000psi tensile strength under
testing.
http://www.sfifoundation.com/

How a Fluidampr Damper Can Improve Gas Mileage

Valve train drive originates at the crankshaft. Uncontrolled torsional vibrations in the
crankshaft can resonate and throw off valve timing by gear slippage, valve chain lash,
and valve float. Once valve timing is out of sync gas mileage is compromised.
More vibration also means powertrain components wear faster. Worn components do
not operate as efficiently, therefore mpg is not optimized.
How Can I Identify A Genuine Fluidampr Damper?

In a global marketplace, some countries of origin do not regard

and adhere to registered trademarks and patents filed in the United States of America. The
Internet and on-line retailers make the ideal environment to push these products. Heres how you
know it is a genuine Fluidampr:
- Fluidampr is a registered trademark and is not licensed to any other company for use. If the
name is Fluidamper, Fluid Damper or any variation of, it is not genuine.
- Fluidampr is 100% made in the USA. Even the raw materials are sourced in the United States.
If it is made anywhere else, or contains material listed from any other country of origin, it is not
genuine Fluidampr.
- Fluidampr contains our distinct logo machined into the housing. The Meets SFI Spec 18.1
seal is also either stamped or engraved.
- Fluidampr precision machines timing mark into the housings to meet or exceed the OEM
timing adjustment precison. The tolerance in spacing the marks are held to the thousands. This
is verified by the CAD designer, CNC programmer and the CNC lathe operator using ISO
9001:2008 Certified measuring tools. If the timing marks are not accurate or there is variation in
the spacing, it is not genuine Fluidampr.
- Fluidampr is a premium product and we believe deserves a premium customer service
experience when purchasing. Therefore, we sell only through well known and reputable
distributors who stand behind their products and support the aftermarket performance parts
industry.
http://www.fluidampr.com/what/how-can-i-identify-a-genuine-fluidampr-damper-86/

Shafting torsional vibrations

Shafting torsional vibrations are

characterized by variable speeds of
shafting rotation.

Shafting torsional vibrations are characterized by variable speeds of shafting rotation. In

vibration, like axial or lateral vibrations, shafting torsional vibrations are "invisible." Howe
become, under certain circumstances, the cause of serious damages including shafting

The origin

Torsional vibrations are the characteristic of nearly all rotational machines and devices. H
combustion engines and their shafting are especially significant. These vibrations appea
rotating parts, invisible to the human eye.
Torsional vibrations are the consequence of a number of processes. The most common

The main sources:

- gas pressure;
- crank mechanism; and
- propeller.

Variable gas pressure in the cylinder of an engine;

Inertial forces of a crank mechanism; and

Fluctuation of sea water flow around the propeller.

The excitation of torsional vibrations is significantly determined by the piston's stroke and
increase of these characteristics is the cause of increased vibration excitation in the rece

Figure 1. Excitation torque generated in cylinder of a typical low-speed diesel engine d

The resultant excitation combines the influences of the gas pressure and th

Shaft load includes a variable torque

component, as well as a static torque
component.

Figure 1. shows the variation of the excitation torque on the crank pin of a typical low-sp
load includes, besides the variable torque component, a static torque component that de
engine speed.

The total engine excitation is the

result of simultaneous action of all
cylinders.

Since propulsion engines are composed of a number of cylinders, the total torque is the
cylinders, taking into account the phase angle between them due to the firing order, as s

During a misfiring operation, a strong

counter torque occurs.

Figure 2. Cumulative excitation torque generated in a typical five-cylinder, low-speed

(360 degrees). The blue line represents the case when all cylinders work properly (norm
when cylinder No. 3 lacks ignition (misfiring ope
The variable torque initiates vibration
of the propulsion plant components.

The variable torque, generated in the engine's cylinder, is transmitted through the shaftin
vibration movement of the propulsion plant components.
The response of a system
Mechanical systems, as a whole, possess some vibration properties denoted as natural
vibration.

Resonance: the event when

excitation frequency is equal to the
system's natural frequency.

If the frequency of excitation, expressed as the number of impulses per second, is suffic
frequency, the system will vibrate "moderately." If, however, the frequency of excitation is
frequency, the system will respond by strong, even severe vibrations, shown in Figure 3

Figure 3. Typical vibration torque variation in a propeller shaft of a conventional, low-s

line corresponds with the system's out-of-resonance running condition, while the red
running condition.

The propulsion plant, composed of the propulsion engine, the shafting and the propeller,
determined by the inertia of its components, as well as by the stiffness between them, po
corresponding modes of vibration.

The propulsion shafting, composed of the crankshaft, the intermediate shaft and the prop
variable torque.
The total torsional stress is a sum of
the static and the vibration stress.

The main consequence of propulsion shafting torsional vibration is the occurrence of tor
the system (Figure 4). The total torsional stress in each component of a shafting system

stress component and a static stress component. As mentioned earlier, the static stress

The static stress component is not

included herein.

Figure 4. Typical torsional vibration stress response for intermediate shaft during norm
engine propulsion plant. Stress limits for engine's continuous and trans

Stress limits
The stress limits depend on many
factors, including the engine speed.

Classification societies prescribe the amount of allowable torsional vibration stresses for
propeller shafts. These stress limits are determined by the purpose, shape, material sele
shafting. Moreover, the stress limits are not constant; instead, they are a function of eng

At the engine's low speeds, the stress limits increase, whereas at the engine's high spee
engine's speed rises, the static stress component also rises, and it is necessary that the

limits.
For each shaft type, there exist two
distinct stress limits.

The higher stress limit should not be

exceeded in any case!

If the lower stress limit is exceeded,

the barred speed range is introduced.

For each shaft type, classification societies prescribe two values of stress limits - the low

The lower stress limit is applicable to the entire speed range of a propulsion plan
level allowed for the continuous engine operation.

The higher stress limit is applicable only for a fraction of the entire speed range,
continuous speed. This stress limit represents the stress level which, in any cas

In the event that actual vibration stresses exceed the lower stress limit, but not the highe
range is introduced.

The barred speed range must be passed through rapidly. Actually, torsional vibrations ne
barred speed range is passed sufficiently rapidly, there is a great possibility that the full s

The barred speed range is clearly noted in red on the tachometer, as well as on notice b
plants are equipped with special devices that ensure that this range is rapidly passed.

The intermediate shaft vibratory stress variation, as shown in Figure 4, exhibits some int

Engine speed ranges below 40 rpm and over 70 rpm are characterized by mode
vibration stress is exceptionally low in the engine speed range above 90 rpm, i.e
that is 105 rpm. Fortunately, the static torsional stress component is the largest

The peak vibration stress is reached at 55 rpm, when the engine output is less t
the same time, the static stress component amounts to approximately one third
speed. This is due to the resonance between the excitation torque and the syste
speed is usually called the critical speed.

In the engine speed range between 53 and 57 rpm, the actual vibration stress is
running, and the barred speed range is introduced. For the safety reasons, the a
imposed in a slightly wider interval.

The influence of one cylinder not firing

Each kind of firing irregularity
increases vibratory stresses.
One cylinder not firing is an extreme
kind of firing irregularity.

In general, any irregularity in cylinder firings usually produces enlarged vibratory stresse
shown in Figure 5, the absence of firing in one of the cylinders significantly changes enti

Figure 5. Typical torsional vibration stress response for intermediate shaft during one
low-speed diesel engine propulsion plant. Stress limits for the engine's continuous, a

Misfiring in any one cylinder causes the rise of resonances that are small, even negligibl
Moreover, these resonances are usually placed in the vicinity of an engine's rated speed
limitation. Fortunately, these operation limitations are not permanent, but only applicable

No barred speed ranges are allowed

in the region above 80% of the rated
speed.

In the case of an intermediate shaft, as shown in Figure 5, the additional speed restrictio
in the interval between 80 rpm and 86 rpm, as well as in the region above 102 rpm. Sinc
speed ranges in the region above 80% of the rated speed, the operation limitation will re
maximum engine speed is not to exceed 80 rpm." The note of this or a similar meaning s
operation manual.

More on resonance

The resonance is a state of movement when the system vibrates in phase with an extern

Peaks on a diagram correspond to

system resonances.

Figure 6. Resonances

The excitation torque is composed of

a number of single harmonic
excitations.
Each single harmonic excitation has
its own frequency.
The system response is also
constructed from a number of single
harmonic responses.

The excitation torque is composed of a number of single harmonic excitations. Each sing
which is a multiple of the shaft rotation frequency. This multiple is called the order. There
order excitation, etc. Of course, the n-th order excitation produces the n-th order respon
Figure 6, is also constructed from a number of single harmonic responses.

Each single harmonic response has its own system resonance. Various peaks on the dia
resonances.

The main resonance, usually denoted as a system main critical speed, occurs when the
excitation. If the propulsion plant is powered by a two-stroke engine, n is equal to the nu
the propulsion plant is powered by a four-stroke engine, n is equal to the one half of the

Counteracting shafting torsional vibrations

The most effective countermeasure is
an appropriate shafting design.
It is extremely important to act as
soon as possible.

The easiest, fastest and most cost-effective way to counteract shafting torsional vibratio
Later, when the propulsion shafting is finished and put in operation, satisfactory solution

During the propulsion shafting design phase, it is possible by proper design to keep vibr

Later, the possible solutions are rare

and expensive.

most usual measures are:

selection of appropriate dimensions and materials,

selection of appropriate turning wheel,

selection of appropriate tuning wheel, and

selection of engine appropriate location, if applicable.

Minor torsional vibration problems of an existing propulsion plant may be resolved by ap

through the hazardous speed ranges. If this is not applicable, the only possible solutions
mounting of a torsional vibration damper.

The torsional vibration damper is a device that should be mounted on the fore end crank
energy from the system and in that way saves the propulsion shafting components from
should be clearly realized that this solution may be prohibitively costly - the cost of a larg
of 100,000 USD per piece.

Sometimes there are only two, four, or, on newer engines, six main caps that go over the crankshaft and
then bolt to the actual engine block. This keeps your crankshaft where it should be. Finally, you have the
rods, pistons, wristpins and rings. This is where all of the crankshaft twist and harmful harmonics are
truly started.
Your pistons and components have to travel up and down the cylinder, to the top of the motor and then to
the bottom. If you think about that motion within a motor, something has to be off the centerline of the
crankshaft so that as the crankshaft turns one revolution, a piston is pushed to the top and then pulled to
the bottom. However, if that stroke is a firing stroke, where fuel is compressed and combusted, that piston
is then also forced downward and that is what actually produces your power. Think about riding a
bicycle and the way you pedal the bike to move. The pedals themselves are like the pistons and the
rod between the pedal and the crank sprocket is just like your connecting rods. The pedal arms have to
be off the centerline of the crank in order for you to make a circle with the pedals and move your bike
forward. Your crankshaft and pistons can be viewed in the same light. Because something has to be off
the centerline of the crankshaft in order to function, the leverage of that connection to the crank is very
high. That is why the crankshaft will twist as the system is forced to rotate when the engine
is fired.
While your motor is running, you have some pistons that are being pushed downward on a
power stroke, some that are being pulled down by the crankshaft, and then there are some
that are being pushed upward by the crankshaft. Now think about this entire system
happening 8,000+ times per minute! Even further, think about all of these different actions
that are taking place, and then imagine them happening on the same piece of metal - the
crankshaft. These actions make that shaft twist in one direction away from its natural home
location, and then when it tries to come back to that home location, its momentum makes it
travel past its original location and farther in the other direction. This is what I measure when

damper testing and the measure magnitude of that action is, Degrees of Twist Peak to Peak. That is
called crankshaft twist. That is what breaks parts and robs you of horsepower when there is nothing to
counteract and eliminate the twist. In this system, the worst torsional vibrations, or twist, will always occur
at the farthest point from the greatest load, or the heaviest mass. A torsional twist is defined as a twist
without a bend. If you get too much of this twist, you will have a bend and this will cause engine and or
crank failures. Think about twisting a piece of rope over and over, you can make one or two revolutions
and nothing happens. Then after that it starts to get a wave in it, and then as you twist more, the rope will
pull your hands closer together.
Once these vibrations get to the front
of the motor, something there needs
to counteract that motion. That is
where the damper comes into play.
The dampers job is to absorb and
counteract as much of the twist as it
possibly can. If you have the right
damper on your motor, almost all of
the twist can be eliminated. However
with the wrong damper virtually all of
the twist can remain. A damper's job
is to rebound, the recoil of a spring. In
this case the spring is your crankshaft
twisting and when it tries to rebound
past that natural state we discussed earlier, that is when the damper needs to stop
it.
You may be wondering what that has to do with HP? Remember from above what
is also at the front of your motor - your camshaft drive. If the front of your
crankshaft is twisting, then your camshaft drive is being pulled and relaxed and
pulled as the snout of the crank twists. If your camshaft position is being changed
or varies, then the engine cannot properly induce, combust and remove the fuel.
That means a loss in power!
You must have a reliable damper that is capable of properly combating these
vibrations and twist. Your stock damper, or stock style damper, is simply a piece of
soft steel that has a rubber ring that has been melted in between another steel
ring. The inherent problem with that design is that there is no way to maintain
concentricity of the inertia ring during manufacturing. Therefore, the damper has to
be machined and balanced after the inertia weight has been bonded to the rubber
strip. That means when the outer ring slips you lose your timing marks, damper
balance and concentricity! The stock damper works just fine as long as you do not make many changes
to the motor. When you start changing HP and RPM you cannot count on your stock damper to do its job.
Not to mention if that damper is old and worn out, the outer ring has a good chance of slipping or even
separating from the rest of the damper and coming off your engine completely!
Many different styles of aftermarket dampers are available. Through many years of testing and tuning, the
O-ring style Elastomer damper has proven to be the best choice for performance applications, especially
when high RPM is being applied. Additionally, this style is re-buildable and even tunable for your particular
engine. A good resource for more in-depth research is an SAE paper called, "A Practical Treatise on
Engine Crankshaft Torsional Vibration Control" by Robert C. Bremer Jr. (SAE Paper SP-445, June 1979).
An excerpt can be found at www.atiracing.com HERE.

Aftermarket ATI Super Dampers are available from 4 to 17 lbs, in steel and aluminum, with serpentines,
HTD, Gilmer, V groves, magnets in the shell, teeth cut into a steel shell, or just about anything you could
ever want on them. These dampers come in diameters of 5 to 8 and thicknesses from 1.1 to 2.5. One
of the biggest size challenges comes with the Import Car Market. These small motors are making lots of
HP and turning lots of RPM and usually have huge cylinder pressures with turbos blowing in 20+ lbs of
boost! The stock Japanese dampers are not any different than stock American dampers in design, except
for their size. The average size of the Import stock damper is around 5- inches. Some import dampers
are VERY poorly attached with 4 bolts holding the damper to a slip-on lower timing belt drive and the
damper bolt holding on that gear. Terrible design for high performance and you are asking for trouble if
this is not addressed.
The biggest problem with a smaller damper is that you have to be able to have enough inertia weight to
make the damper do its job. Think about your common Power Pulleys. They may add some power by
slowing down all of your accessories, but they will hurt your engine life and your power at some RPM
ranges. Power Pulleys are not the right way to make power! In the long run power pulleys will yield
failures in your engine and components on your car, especially flywheel bolts coming off and oil pump
failures. That stands true for Imports and American cars. Read more about the Dangers of Power Pulleys,
at www.atiracing.com HERE.
Hopefully, this article has cast some light on crankshaft dampers. They are not black magic, just
something that most people never think about. Chances are that your stock damper is old, and that the
rubber has started to crack and wear out. Or you might have a cheaper aftermarket damper that is
nothing more than a polished up stock damper design. Like I said, most people never check out their
damper because they never realized what a critical component it is.

http://www.dragtimenews.com/dampers101.htm

http://www.cadea.hr/Torsional.htm

The Rattler Frequently Asked Questions

TCI RATTLER Tortional Vibration Absorber.
Most Frequently Asked Rattler Questions
1. Why do you need an absorber or damper?
Engine speed slightly increases during power strokes and decreases during compression strokes.
This is what causes twisting vibration of the crankshaft. In some instances, since the crankshaft
drives the cam, crank vibrations can also cause instability in the valve train. The dampers and
absorbers are designed to reduce these vibrations.

2. What is crankshaft torsional vibration?

Answer: Due to their mechanical design, all internal combustion engines will display crankshaft
torsional vibration. This is due to the fact that torque cannot be applied to crankshafts from firing
cylinders with steady pressure. It varies with the position of the crankshaft in relationship to each
cylinder. As the piston rises and falls, so does cylinder pressure. The changing pressure, acting on
the piston, results in forces transmitted along the connecting rod and applied to the crankshaft
journal. In the operation of the crankshaft assembly, the forces reverse back and forth. The
crankshaft reacts and transmits these forces that are indicative of crankshaft torsional vibration.
3. What is resonance frequency?
Answer: We have all seen the old Memorex commercial of a glass being shattered by the sound
of a singers voice. What you were actually seeing was the point at which the glass was exposed
to its own natural frequency and at that moment it shattered. This is a common example of
resonance. Inside the engine the torque spikes from the firing cylinders excite the crankshaft at
certain critical speeds to its own natural frequency. It is not uncommon for these conditions to
cause failures in crankshafts, front end accessory belts, gear train, and valve timing problems
4. What does resonance have to do with selecting an engine damper/absorber?
Answer: Remember, resonance occurs when the exciting frequency is equal or close to the
natural frequency of your crankshaft assembly. Resonance can be controlled either by dissipating
the energy causing the crankshaft to twist or by absorbing that energy. Energy dissipation,
common to the elastomer and viscous type dampers, convert mechanical energy into heat energy
through friction. Energy absorption, common to the Rattler, provides torsional control by
providing counteracting forces to the forces that actually cause torsional vibration. Through
research and testing, detrimental engine harmonics have been identified. The absorber is
designed to eliminate those specific harmonics which can cause failure. In other words, the
absorber concentrates on eliminating the cause as opposed to reducing the effect of torsional
vibration.
5. Does just the crankshaft have a resonance frequency?
Answer: No, all objects have a natural or resonance frequency. Through research and testing, we
can identify where resonance frequency is most harmful to an engine. Piston firing, by far, is the
force that causes major damage to an engine.
6. What is the Rattler?
Answer: It is a torsional vibration absorber that controls twisting (torsional) vibration of the
crankshaft. Engineers call it a pendulum type of absorber.
7. What is the difference between dampers and absorbers?

Answer: There are fluid type and stock type or elastomer dampers. Newest to the market is the
Rattler absorber. The first two units have been readily available to the automotive market for
many years and in fact were the only types available. The fluid type and elastomer type devices
are dampers and tend to reduce vibration by using friction to dissipate energy. The Rattler, an
absorber, is a device that absorbs and controls vibration by using internal rollers that
automatically offsets the twisting forces that cause vibration.
8. How does the Rattler work?
Answer: Inside the Rattler are steel rollers that fit loosely into a specific number of holes. By
using an exact mathematical relationship, the rollers will roll forward during compression strokes
and roll backward during the power stroke to keep the engine speed variations and vibration, to a
minimum.
9. Is this new technology?
Answer: The concept is not new. In fact it has and is currently being used in airplane engines
where cost is not an important consideration. What is new is that TCI was able to apply this
technology to the internal combustion engine and obtain aU.S. patent for the design of the
Rattler. This design and concept permits the unit to be produced at a competitive price for the
automotive industry.
10. What is the main advantage of the Rattler?
Answer: The Rattler is tuned to the number of cylinders and is effective at all engine speeds. It
is important to remember that maximum efficiency is achieved at all engine speeds. In order for
the elastomer type to be effective, it must be carefully matched to each specific engine
combination. It can be effective on stock engines since many of the OE and industry engineers
spend a great deal of time tuning for a specific engine. No engine builder can do testing to match
a modified engine to a dampers characteristics. Because of the design, the Rattler is tied
primarily to the number of cylinders. It can easily be produced to match the specific needs of the
enthusiast.
11. What are some of the other advantages and differences the Rattler has over other
units on the market?
Answer: The torque capability of the Rattler to control vibration is huge. For example, the
centrifugal force of one roller (the Rattler has a total of 9) at 7000 RPM creates 2407 pounds of
force which is available as needed to control vibration. In other words, the rollers move as
needed to control vibration.
12. What about horsepower? A lot of claims have been made regarding increase in
horsepower.

Answer: In high performance motors where crankshaft vibration can be excessive, it can provide
increased power by providing a stable and vibration free driving force for the camshaft and valve
train.
13. So what are you saying?
Answer: We have data that show horsepower gains but according to engine builders and results
from dyno information, on an average performance engine you actually are not going to see a
tremendous amount of horsepower gain unless something is wrong with the engine to begin with.
The Rattler has shown horsepower gains on the dyno but its primary function is extended
durability due to reduced twist and fatigue.
14. Can an engine dyno show torsional vibration twist?
Answer: No. To test torsional vibration twist you need monitoring equipment that you will not
find at your average engine builder/dyno facility. TCI initially contracted a highly specialized
facility to do testing in their torsional vibration testing labs. In fact, we also did actual on track
testing with a variety of race cars to see if in-house dyno cell results and on-track testing were
consistent with the mathematical theory that was patented. This is a very costly type of testing
and very few units sold in the aftermarket have ever been exposed to this type of testing.
15. The Rattler makes noise. Does it have to make noise to work?
Answer: The only time you may hear the Rattler is when starting and stopping the engine.
When you hear the slight click you know the Rattler is ready to work. The slight noise could
have been eliminated but TCI decided to keep it as a distinguishing trademark.
16. Do you have to have special tools to install the Rattler?
Answer: You use the same tools and procedure that you would when installing a balancer.
17. Can you balance a crankshaft with a Rattler installed on the assembly?
Answer: Unlike some units, the Rattler can be installed when balancing an engine assembly.
The rotation of the crankshaft is sufficient to push the pucks inside the Rattler into position.
Some aftermarket brands recommend using a stock balancer when using an external unit to
balance the assembly, some recommend removing part of their damper before balancing the
crankshaft due to certain elements not being properly centred.
18. What is the life of the Rattler?
Answer: To ensure that the Rattler was safe to operate at the high rpms associated with the
performance industry, several measures were taken. Extensive finite element analysis was
performed to ensure that the design could withstand extremely high rotational speeds without
failure. TCI has run durability, SFI 18.1, and destruction tests and the unit just keeps on going.
Test Rattlers have surpassed the 100-million cycle mark with very little wear. Steel pucks roll,

not slide, very small amounts inside steel holes to absorb torsional vibration. Rattler is
unaffected by temperature. Fluid and elastomer dampers do require replacement in time.
19. In the past, stock type units have been known to have had timing marks that have
slipped relative to the crankshaft. Can the Rattler have the same problem?
Answer: No. The timing marks are integral to the body itself and cannot move relative to the
crankshaft.
http://vibrationfree.co.uk/our-services/motorsport/the-rattler-frequently-asked-questions/

Oppose rather than absorb

The power strokes of an engine put a pulsing pressure on the crankshaft. Each stroke exerts a
torsion force, which causing deflections in the crankshaft webs with an equal rebound. This can
result in fatigue and cracking, ultimately leading to a failure and an expensive repair. To solve
the problem manufacturers generally fit a harmonic damper. The damper dissipates the energy of
the vibration and helps to protect the crankshaft.
There are two potential problems with harmonic dampers. The first is the fact that they are heavy
and they can take up a lot of space, which is a disadvantage when a vehicle needs to be
lightweight and there is limited space available.
The second problem is the fact that each harmonic damper needs to be tuned to the specific
engine and drivetrain used in the vehicle. In order to decide which part to use, a complex
mathematical calculation is required. If any part is changed, whether it is the whole engine, the
clutch or a flywheel, the damper will also need changing. This can be time consuming and
increases the cost.
The Sterling Rattler was designed to offer a better solution. The component opposes the torsional
forces rather than absorbing them. This means you can choose a model for the specific engine
and change other components more freely without needing to replace it as well. This offers major
benefits, and as an added bonus it can be attached to either end of the crankshaft to suit spatial
availability.
This outstanding product and can be used on a wide array of vehicles, and it can be constructed
from super light alloys for race cars when weight savings are required. The Rattler has an
excellent pedigree and track record of success, and is fast becoming a must have for discerning
vehicle owners.
Long term benefits of vibration analysis

As our name indicates, the ultimate aim of our work is to ensure that machinery and cars can
operate free from excessive vibration. Any form of vibration is a sign that equipment is not
working as it was intended to, particularly if it is so strong that it generates a noise. In order to
ensure that your machinery delivers longevity and optimal performance, it is vital that we learn
all that we possibly can about what is causing the increased vibration to determine the problem.
This important information is drawn from our initial vibration analysis work. Vibration is the
key to mechanical condition
Vibration analysis is the best starting point for any work intended to reduce vibrations in
machinery, but it also delivers wider benefits. In addition to helping us understand what is
causing the vibration and how to stop it, our analysis contributes directly to condition monitoring
and allows us to create a maintenance strategy to be implemented going forward.
In most cases, we find that vibration in machinery is at an acceptable level but can often be
improved. As equipment and plant wear, the vibration increases to a point where it is damaging
to the life and possibly the performance of the plant. Reductions in efficiency is costly, so the use
of a vibration analysis survey will pin point the focus for corrective measures in a timely basis to
prevent failures, risk an further costly downtime.

An innovative solution for crankshaft vibrations

Torsional vibrations in crankshafts can cause problems in any vehicle. In family cars, the
vibration can be felt in the seats and may also create noise, resulting in discomfort. The issue can
be even more problematic in sports and race cars because of the powerful engine strokes and
high speeds they can reach. Too much vibration can result in wear and tear on the crankshaft,
bearings and engine block, as well as decreased engine performance.
Typically, the best way to deal with torsional vibration in a crankshaft is to use a damper. These
dissipate the energy as heat and reduce the vibrations, but they can be heavy and may take up a
lot of space. This is something to be avoided in racing vehicles where weight savings are so
important for optimal performance. Additionally, some of the products degrade over time,
resulting in higher levels of wear on components.
The Sterling Rattler is a fantastic alternative to traditional dampers for crankshafts. This
innovative and energy saving product absorbs the torsional vibration in one direction and then
gives it back. The rollers in the device oppose the torsional vibrations and reduce the issues they
cause. This makes the part far more effective and able to prolong the life of the crankshaft, and
engine and save some power at the same time.

One great quality of the Rattler is that it is available in both Pulley and Flywheel variations, so it
can be fitted at both ends of the crankshaft. This means it can be placed where space is available
and where it will offer the best performance. The device can even be incorporated into a clutch.
At Vibration Free we are proud to design and manufacture the Sterling Rattler. We have
extensive experience resolving vehicular vibrations and can provide solutions to protect
components and improve performance. We provide products to suit various requirements,
catering for different types of vehicles and engine configurations. When necessary, we can even
design and manufacture bespoke Rattlers. We recommend all prospective clients contact us to
discuss their needs. Rattlers need to be chosen depending on the type of engine and the amount
of space that is available. We are always happy to guide you through the design process so you
can receive the optimal solution for your particular issue.

Torsional Vibration and Viscous Dampers

Preface:The Paxman Sales Engineers' Handbook says "The subject of torsional vibrations is
extremely complex and the calculations quite involved". (1)That is perhaps an understatement!
Such a highly technical subject may seem a rather abstruse topic for inclusion in a history of
Paxman. Torsional vibration can be a particular problem in large, high-speed, multi-cylinder
diesel engines: the type in which Paxman has specialised for more than 75 years. Consequently it
became essential for the Company to acquire an in-depth understanding of the subject and of the
steps which can be taken to minimise the risks arising from torsional vibration. The key figures
in this story are the handful of Paxman engineers who became acknowledged authorities on
torsional vibration problems and practical solutions for overcoming them. Their knowledge,
understanding and abilities in this field earned them reputations and respect far beyond the
confines of the Company. The story of Paxman's success in dealing with the challenges of
torsional vibration provides a good illustration of the high levels of specialist knowledge and
skills which have characterised the Company's engineers throughout the history of the business.
What is torsional vibration and why is it a problem?

Torsional vibration occurs in crankshafts of reciprocating internal-combustion engines and the

coupled drive line systems of such engines. The firing pulses of an engine's cylinders create a
pulsating torque, rather than a steady unidirectional torque, in the crankshaft. The pulses act in
one direction as each cylinder fires, and then in the opposite direction during each cylinder's
compression stroke. The variations in cylinder pressure throughout each complete engine cycle
produce forces of changing magnitude and direction at the engine crankshaft. The end of the
shaft attached to the flywheel rotates at a near-constant speed as the flywheel, through the inertial
forces acting upon it, fulfils its function. At the free end of the crankshaft angular oscillations
which are superimposed on the shaft rotational speed, resulting from the firing impulses of the

cylinders, produce larger torsional vibration displacements than those at the flywheel end of the
shaft. These angular displacements and resulting vibratory torques produce vibratory stresses in
the material of the crankshaft. Normally these stresses are within the design limits for the shaft.
However, if the frequency of these excitation torques is allowed to coincide with the torsional
natural frequency of the crankshaft a resonant condition can arise and lead to damagingly high
levels of vibratory stresses and subsequent fatigue failure of the shaft material. Such failures are
always in fatigue mode and normally start from 'stress raisers'. In crankshafts the stress raisers
which are significant for torsional fatigue are the crankpin and journal blend radii and the oil
holes drilled into the main bearings towards the crankpins. Once a small crack has started, the
stress raiser effect becomes much greater and further propagation is inevitable.
Fatigue cracks initially propagate relatively slowly at a rate depending on load until there is
insufficient remaining metal area to transmit the power and rapid failure then occurs. After a
torsional fatigue failure the fractured surfaces tend to follow a spiral shape and the area of initial
slow propagation always appears relatively smooth, while the final rapid failure area is rough as
the last remaining metal is simply torn apart.
Engine-generated excitation frequencies are related to harmonics of the engine speed. When one
of these frequencies synchronises with a shaft system natural frequency, the engine is said to be
running at a 'critical speed'. Such speeds usually make their presence known by a rumbling noise
caused by moving parts, such as crank journals, pins, gudgeons and pistons hammering from side
to side in their respective clearances, and by backlash in gear teeth.
One hardly need add that crankshaft failure is exceptionally costly although secondary damage to
other engine parts is not usually excessive. After the crankcase or engine housing, the crankshaft
is generally the most expensive single engine component. The strip-down and reassembly needed
to fit a replacement is also expensive and time-consuming. Furthermore, the high cost of large
crankshafts is such that a spare may not be available as a stock item but have to be manufactured
to order, possibly with a lead time of months rather than days. All the time the engine is out of
service, the costs mount up for the owner.
For engines which are designed for one particular application, such as driving an alternator, in
which they will run at a constant set speed, it is possible to modify the system inertia and hence
the natural frequency by adding additional rotating mass to the engine's free end, in order to
move critical speeds away from a fixed running speed. A similar modification to natural
frequencies can be imposed by introducing a flexible coupling drive between the engine and the
machine it is driving.
Paxman has, since the 1930s, specialised in the design and build of high-speed diesels intended
for use in a variety of applications. In several of these, such as marine propulsion, oil-well
drilling and some types of rail traction, there has been a requirement for engines to operate not at

one fixed speed but over a wide speed range. Consequently torsional vibration became an
important matter which it was essential for the Company to address in depth.
Factors governing the risk of torsional vibration problems

The risk of encountering torsional vibration problems is influenced by six main factors: (a) the
torsional natural frequencies of the crankshaft, (b) the engine's firing pressure, (c) its rotational
speed, (d) its number of cylinders, (e) the firing order and the bank angle of vee engines and (f)
inherent damping in the system.
1. A crankshaft's length, geometry and balance weight arrangement
fundamentally influence its torsional stiffness and inertia and hence its
natural frequencies.
2. Compared with spark-ignition engines, diesels have high compression-ratios.
Most diesels are also turbocharged. The combination of high compressionratios and high charge-air boost pressures results in high firing pressures. The
latter impose very heavy loads on pistons, connecting rods and crankpins,
with correspondingly greater pulse effects. These increase the risk of
troublesome torsional vibration occurring in the crankshafts of diesel engines
compared with those of petrol engines with their much lower compressionratios and firing pressures.
3. The risk of encountering torsional vibration problems can increase markedly
as engine speeds increase. As an engine's speed increases so does the
frequency of its firing impulses. As the frequency of the latter increases, so
does the risk of these vibrations exciting the crankshaft's natural frequencies
for torsionally stiff shafts having high natural frequencies.
4. The risk of torsional vibration problems increases with the number of
cylinders in a given type of engine. There are two factors at play here. First,
as the number of cylinders increases so does the number of firing pulses per
crankshaft revolution, increasing the potential for exciting torsional
vibrations. The second factor is the length of the crankshaft. In, say, a four
cylinder engine the crankshaft is relatively short and rigid. The amplitude of
the crankshaft's deflection on each cylinder's firing and compression stroke is
comparatively small and torsional oscillation is minimal. As the number of
cylinders increases, the crankshaft has to be lengthened accordingly. The
longer a crankshaft is, the less rigid it becomes along its length. It is thus
more likely to flex and experience greater amplitudes of torsional oscillation.
The higher as well as the lower natural frequencies of longer shafts are more
likely to be excited by operational frequencies.
5. The firing order can have a major impact on the risk of torsional vibration.
The choice of the best firing order for ideal torsional vibration characteristics
is not usually the best for ideal exhaust and turbocharging arrangements. A
compromise between these two requirements is usually necessary.

6. The inherent damping in the system plus the damping factor introduced by
fitting a viscous damper will significantly limit the amplitudes of vibration
which occur at or near any resonant frequencies associated with engine
critical speeds.

As previously mentioned, since the 1930s Paxman has chosen to specialise in the design and
manufacture of large, high-speed diesel engines with, typically, 12, 16 or 18 cylinders. It is very
much this type of engine which is likely to encounter torsional vibration problems, particularly
because of the factors (b), (c) and (d) described above. As the Company increased the speeds and
power outputs of its engines it became essential to acquire an in-depth understanding of this
highly technical subject and to find practical solutions to the potential problems.
Torsional Vibration Calculations

A major part of the torsional vibration engineer's work is doing calculations to determine the
natural frequencies of a crankshaft and the complete driven shaft systems and where to expect
'critical speeds' within an engine's normal operating speed range. The calculations need to be
made not solely for the engine itself but for the engine and any machinery coupled to it.
Information required for the complex calculations includes the stiffness, dimensions and material
properties of all shafts, the inertia of rotating masses within the engine such as the flywheel,
crankshaft and damper, the inertia of rotating masses in any driven machinery such as gear
shafts, alternator armature or marine propeller, the configuration (crank angles, etc.) of the
crankshaft, the engine's firing order, its number of cylinders, operating speeds and speed range.
The validity of calculated natural frequencies and vibration amplitudes needs to be verified from
an operating engine. The results of calculations are therefore checked by running the engine on a
test bed and using a Torsiograph to record the frequency and amplitude of vibrations in the
crankshaft. From this record and the calculations an accurate knowledge of the behaviour of the
shaft can be acquired.
From the 1940s it became standard practice within Paxman for the Company's torsional vibration
engineers to do the calculations for resonant frequencies and obtain Torsiograph recordings for
each type of engine and its driven machinery. Having identified any critical speeds within the
engine's normal range of operating speeds, it was then the responsibility of these engineers to
advise on appropriate measures to avoid torsional vibration problems when the engine was in
service. Before the arrival of the viscous damper, which is described later on this page, steps
which could be taken to avoid problems included altering the resonant frequency of the
crankshaft by altering the mass of one or more rotating parts by, for example, adding mass to the
free end of the crankshaft or by adding a flexible coupling of calculated stiffness between the
engine and its driven machinery or by a combination of these.
Before the viscous damper became available, it was considered that for a constant speed
application, such as driving a generator, only the normal operating or working speed needed to
be free of critical frequencies as, generally, any criticals at lower speeds would be quickly passed

through as the engine was run up to speed. However, in many applications of Paxman engines,
such as marine propulsion, engines were (and still are) required to operate over a wide speed
range. Until the arrival of the viscous damper in the 1950s, variable speed applications
sometimes had to have 'barred' speeds at which the engine could not be run for any length of
time without the risk of damage. Not only was the safety of the crankshaft then entirely
dependent on the operator but for some applications, such as oilwell drilling, barred speeds were
simply not acceptable to the customer.
David Legerton joined Paxman's Torsional Vibration Section in about 1967. He recalls that in
those days the Company's torsional vibration calculations were done in ledger type books in
which it was possible to look up all previous calculations. During the late 1960s or early 1970s
arrangements were made for some of the calculations to be done on the University of Essex's
computer which used a punched card system for data input. In the 1980s the late Leo Crawley,
Paxman's Principal Vibration Engineer from 1958 to 1990, adapted a small BBC microcomputer
to do torsional vibration calculations. This was in the very early days of personal
microcomputers. Leo was a keen electronics enthusiast in his spare time and not only did he
write the calculation programs (in machine code, the lowest level programming language and the
most demanding to work with), he also substantially modified the hardware of his
microcomputer to suit his particular requirements. (2)
The Viscous Damper Solution

The device adopted by Paxman in the 1950s to overcome torsional vibration problems was the
viscous damper. Since that time the Company has used this type of damper on all its engines with
the single exception of the 18 cylinder version of its latest engine, the VP185. The purpose of the
damper is to 'damp' or reduce the torsional vibrations in the crankshaft and to keep the material
stresses within permissible limits to eliminate or minimise the risk of failure. Before moving on
to the history of Paxman's involvement with the viscous damper, a brief description of the device
may be helpful.
The viscous damper is a circular shaped unit which is bolted to the free end of the crankshaft. It
consists of an annular sealed casing within which there is a massive ring of steel free to rotate on
a central bearing. There is a small and closely controlled gap between the ring and the casing
which is filled with a high viscosity silicone fluid, dimethyl polysiloxane.

On the left in the above diagram is the main section of a viscous damper's casing, the part
which is bolted to the free end of the crankshaft, and on the far right is its cover.
In the centre is the inertia ring which is free to rotate inside the casing.
(Diagram by kind permission of Metaldyne International UK Ltd.)
During normal operation both the casing and inertia ring revolve together as one mass due to the
high viscosity of the silicone fluid. If the crankshaft seeks to vibrate in the torsional mode, the
outer casing has to vibrate with it. The internal ring is not fixed to the casing and because of its
inertia tries to continue rotating steadily. The resistance produced by shearing of the viscous
silicone fluid causes the ring to exert a restraining force on the casing thus damping the torsional
vibrations. This enables an engine to run at what would otherwise be critical speeds for torsional
vibrations, by preventing these vibrations from building up to a level which would cause
damaging stresses in the crankshaft.
The shearing of the silicone fluid generates heat which has to be dissipated through the external
surfaces of the damper. This can be either to air in the case of an externally mounted damper or
to the engine's lubricating oil when the damper is mounted inside the engine casing. Failure to
ensure a satisfactory rate of heat dissipation leads to overheating and early failure of the damper
as the silicone fluid breaks down at very high temperatures.
The Arrival of the Viscous Damper at Paxman

In the early 1950s Geoffrey Bone (who joined Paxman in 1945 and was its Managing Director
from 1954 to 1964) came back from a trip to the USA with a small viscous damper in his
baggage and a firm conviction that this was the way to go for the future avoidance of torsional
vibration problems. The damper was made by the Houdaille-Hershey Corporation (name
shortened to Houdaille Industries in 1955).
It is not known what commercial arrangements were made with Houdaille to use their
technology. However Ray Roxby and Alex Walford recall that in the early 1950s Paxman
developed larger dampers of this type for its engines and initially manufactured them in-house.
Neil Avis believes the Company originally made them for use on the YL engine. Manufacture of

dampers did not continue for long at Colchester. Geoffrey Bone made arrangements for Holset
Engineering to design and manufacture them. Not a surprising move as Holset's flexible coupling
and viscous damper business was headed by an ex-Paxman man, Paul Croset, who possessed a
detailed knowledge of Paxman engines and torsional vibration issues.
The use of viscous dampers did not remove the necessity to check for critical speeds and fit
suitable flexible couplings to certain sets. They did, however, reduce the vibration amplitudes at
the critical speeds so that it rarely became necessary to make individually tailored masses for
attaching to crankshafts to overcome potential torsional vibration problems.
An early problem with viscous dampers

Paxman's initial application of viscous dampers was not without problems. The Company
supplied a number of engines to Shell to power oilwell drilling barges for use on Lake Maracaibo
in Venezuela. For this duty the engines had to run for very long periods at any speed within their
range. All went well for a year or so and then a spate of failures began. The initial failures started
in the slotted driving plate connecting the engine to the hydraulic coupling but crankshaft failures
followed soon after (for more of the technical background, see additional note at foot of page).
Paxman had an engineer, Freddie Webb, based in Venezuela, but he could find no reason for
these serious failures. Furthermore, spare crankshafts were being used at a great rate and the lead
time for new crankshafts was over one year. The Company could not afford to allow Shell to
have to cease production because of lack of spare crankshafts.
John Cove was sent out to Venezuela in 1956 to investigate the problem. On that trip he was
accompanied by Leo Crawley, then Paxman's torsional vibration expert, as torsional vibrations
were suspected despite the fact that all these engines were fitted with dampers. Alf Herbert, who
was in charge of Paxman's spare parts service, was also with John, Freddie and Leo, but on a
separate remit to ensure adequate spares service from a newly appointed agent in Maracaibo.

(left to right) Alf Herbert, Leo Crawley and Freddie Webb travelling on the high-speed launch on
Lake Maracaibo in 1956, which took them and John Cove from Maracaibo towards Lagunillas,
to the drilling barges operated with Paxman engines.(Photo courtesy of John Cove.)
As soon as John Cove saw the damaged engines he knew the dampers had failed. Paint on the
dampers had become so hot that it had blistered, and examination of the broken crankshafts
showed that the type of failure was typical of that caused by torsional fatigue. Torsional vibration
tests carried out by Leo Crawley on engines which had not yet failed revealed that the dampers
on some of them were not working. From this John knew that more crankshaft failures could be
expected once the initial fatigue cracks had had time to propagate further.
John got a local machine shop to cut open the defective dampers and found that in some the
silicone fluid had lost all its viscosity and ran like water, while in others the fluid, through
heating, had turned into a black solid like synthetic rubber. He returned to the UK with samples
and Holset investigated.
The inertia ring and its bearing were plated with cadmium to reduce the tendency for scuffing of
the bearing surfaces. Holset's investigation concluded that the silicone fluid had become
contaminated by chemicals used in the cadmium plating of the ring and its bearing. The mass
ring had a bronze bearing which was pressed into it and this bearing in turn ran on a steel surface
inside the casing. The bearing was fitted into the ring before the whole assembly was put into the
plating bath. During plating, fluid had managed to enter the small gaps and clearances between
the bronze bearing and the steel ring. The washing process after plating failed to remove all of it
from these small recesses so plating fluid gradually seeped out during operational service and
contaminated the silicone.
Holset changed either the design or manufacturing process, or both, and that appears to have
been the end of that particular problem.

Paxman's Torsional Vibration Engineers

Two key personalities in the early history of Paxman's interest in torsional vibration were Paul
Croset and his father, Louis, both of whom worked for the Company in the 1940s. Paul Croset,
who had served his apprenticeship with the Crossley Premier Gas & Oil Engine Company of
Sandiacre, came to Paxman to advise on torsional analysis. He was Paxman's expert on torsional
vibration matters until leaving to join the W C Holmes company at Huddersfield in December
1948, to start up and manage their new flexible couplings venture. This business became Holset,
of which Paul became Managing Director and subsequently Chairman. (3)Paul Croset was
awarded an OBE in 1967 (presumably for services to industry).
Louis Croset had joined Paxman as an engine designer during World War 2, having previously
been Chief Designer at Crossley Premier. (4)The March 1949 issue of Paxman's World
contained an article about the Company's Diesel Engineering Department within which there was
a Design Department. Describing the latter it said: 'Head of this department is Mr L P Croset,
who has some eight designers working with him. Mr Croset is a well-known figure in the
engineering world for his design of small and medium-sized diesel engines'. (5)Ray Roxby
recalls that Louis was absent from work due to serious illness during much of 1948. We know
from another source that Joe Hind, who had previously worked for Paxman from 1940 to 1947,
was brought back from Dennis Commercial Vehicles at Guildford and appointed Chief Designer,
in Louis's place, in January 1949. (6)Prior to this event, Louis had designed and patented a
flexible coupling. It was this coupling which the W C Holmes company became interested in
manufacturing and which led to it setting up the flexible coupling venture headed by Louis's son,
Paul. In the June 1950 issue of Diesel Railway Traction it was announced that 'Louis P Croset,
until recently Chief Diesel Engine Designer with Davey Paxman & Co, has joined W C Holmes
in the capacity of Consulting Engineer in the Holset coupling and damper department'. (7)Ray
Roxby recalls that Louis Croset, while at Paxman, started work on designing the vee form
version of the RPL engine.
When Paul Croset left Paxman in 1948 to join W C Holmes, Doug Braund was appointed
Torsional Vibration Engineer in his place. Doug joined Paxman as an apprentice in 1938 (8) and,
after completing his training, worked as a Test Engineer in Paxman's post-war Experimental
Department before moving into the Torsional Vibration section. He came to be another widely
respected authority on torsional vibration. A few years later, after making a valuable contribution
at Colchester, Doug joined Paul Croset at Holset (probably c.1958) and in time was appointed a
Director of that company. He was a contributor to A Handbook on Torsional Vibration (9), one of
the leading texts on the subject.

Doug Braund's successor at Paxman was Leo

Crawley. Leo first worked for Power Jets at Lutterworth as an apprentice under Frank Whittle,
inventor of the jet engine. At Lutterworth he progressed to become Scientific Assistant in the
Vibration Department. Leo joined Paxman's Experimental Department in November 1948 (10),
having been recruited by Geoffrey Bone, the then head of that Department, who had himself
worked with Frank Whittle at Power Jets before coming to Colchester. In 1958 Leo was
appointed head of Paxman's Torsional Vibration section and became one of Britain's leading
experts in vibration calculation and measurement. In 1988 he was appointment chairman of
British Marine Technology's steering committee for drawing up a standard for noise and
vibration on board ships. (11)
Photo: Leo Crawley taking vibration readings from a Ventura engine on test.
It was a great shock and sadness to all of us at Paxman when in April 1990 Leo died in hospital
after a short illness. He was aged only 62 and had over 41 years service with the Company. My
personal memory of Leo is of a modest unassuming man, always friendly, cheerful and very
helpful: a real gentleman. The same opinion has been echoed by others who worked closely with
him and knew him better. Leo was exceptionally able in what is universally recognised to be a
highly technical discipline. Kevin Hosking, a former colleague of Leo, has described him as
'incredibly clever' and having 'an outstanding knowledge of noise and vibration'. No one at
Paxman would argue with that assessment. He was much liked and well-respected both for his
technical knowledge and his attractive personal qualities.
Among those who assisted Leo on torsional vibration were Doug Appleby, who during the latter
part of his career was Paxman's Overhauls Manager, and Brian Cosson who was involved with
the initial moves to use computers for torsional vibration calculations. Brian left the Company to
join Lloyds Registry of Shipping Technical Department where he progressed to the position of
Torsional Vibration Surveyor. Another protg of Leo was David Legerton who joined Paxman

in 1962 and served a five-year Student Apprenticeship. After a time in Applications Engineering,
David moved to the Torsional Vibration section in about 1967 where he became Leo's right hand
man. David left Paxman in 1975 to join the CEGB's Scientific Services Department as a
Research Officer, working on vibrations associated with power station machinery and plant.
After David left, Leo was ably assisted for some years by Erik James who had been on the same
Higher National Diploma course as David during his training.
After Leo Crawley's sudden unexpected death I was asked to recruit David Legerton back to
Paxman to fill Leo's position. No difficult selection decision was called for on this particular
assignment. David's knowledge and experience of torsional vibration and Paxman engines made
him the ideal candidate for the job. He was also well-liked and respected. Fortunately the offer of
the position of Principal Vibration Engineer was accepted and David rejoined the Company in
July 1990. It had been envisaged earlier that David would return to Colchester to spend some
time with Leo, before Leo retired, so that there could be a smooth handover of responsibilities. In
the circumstances David was plunged straight in at the deep end without the benefit of a
handover period. David's unassuming manner, courtesy, cheerful friendliness and helpfulness
have often struck me as being remarkably similar to Leo's character traits. Did he inherit these, as
well as his technical expertise, from his former mentor? David left in December 2002 when the
Engineering function at Colchester was reduced to a small handful of people to support existing
engines. He was the last in Paxman's succession of remarkably talented torsional vibration
engineers whose contribution was so important to the Company's success in the field of highspeed diesels.

The Holset Viscous Damper Business

Reference has already been made to the origins of the Holset business, when W C Holmes
established its flexible coupling department to make and market couplings designed by Louis
Croset. As previously mentioned, Paul Croset joined Holmes in early December 1948 after being
persuaded to move to Huddersfield to head up the new venture. Paul was later joined by his
father as Consulting Engineer and by Doug Braund who rose to be a Director of Holset. It is
noteworthy that three ex-Paxman engineers, each well-versed in torsional vibration, played
major parts in the establishment and growth of what was to become the leading British
manufacturer of flexible couplings and viscous dampers.
In late 1949 the question arose of what to call the new business. The name settled on was Holset,
derived from the first part of HOLmes and the last part of CroSET. The venture now began to
trade as the Holset Division of W C Holmes. At the end of March 1952 the Division was formed
into a limited company, the Holset Engineering Co Ltd, and Paul Croset was appointed its first
Managing Director.

With his former background as a torsional vibration engineer, it is not surprising that Paul Croset
set about convincing Holmes's Directors that the new venture should include vibration dampers:
a good fit with the flexible couplings product and markets. In 1954 Holset obtained a licence
from Houdaille to manufacture viscous dampers in the UK. This fits in with Alex Walford's
recollection that in 1952, shortly after he started work at Paxman, Paxman was developing and
building its own viscous dampers but that this did not continue for long. Other ex-Paxman
engineers also remember that Paxman did not make dampers for long but approached Holset to
make and supply them. Since the mid-1950s all Paxman engines have been fitted with Holset
viscous dampers with the exception of the 18 cylinder version of the VP185 which has a tuned
damper. Holset also became a major manufacturer of Bchi turbochargers, some of which were
supplied to Paxman.
In 1973 the Holset business was acquired by the Cummins Engine Company Inc which
subsequently appointed Paul Croset as Holset's Chairman. Also in 1973 the company moved
from Huddersfield to its present location in Halifax, Yorkshire. In June 1997 Holset's Vibration
Attenuation business was acquired by Simpson Industries of Plymouth, Michigan, USA.
Metaldyne was formed in 2001 and in January 2007 the business was acquired by the Asahi Tec
Corporation of Japan. Since that date there has been a further change of ownership but as at 2011
the Simpson/Holset viscous dampers business still trades as Metaldyne International UK Ltd.
Current Practice

Today, large diesels of the Paxman type are generally fitted with either a viscous or a tuned type
of damper. As previously mentioned, Paxman has continued to use 'Holset' viscous dampers on
all its engines except the 18 cylinder VP185 which has a tuned damper for reasons explained
below. On earlier Paxman engines, such as the RPH Series, the damper was fitted externally and
cooled by the surrounding air. The Ventura, Valenta and 12VP185 all have viscous dampers
mounted internally, where the lubricating oil splashing around in the crankcase is sufficient to
cool them. Most of the engines built by MTU (Motoren und Turbinen Union), one of Paxman's
main competitors in the high-speed diesel market, use the tuned type.
The 18VP185's Tuned Damper

When Paxman was considering the design of the 18 cylinder version of the VP185, there was a
desire to avoid having to fit two dampers as on the 16 and 18 cylinder versions of the VP185's
immediate predecessor, the Valenta. The prototype 18VP185 development engine was therefore
fitted with a Holset tuned damper. Paxman found that this, one of the earliest tuned type made by
Holset, did not perform as well as had been hoped. The other difficulty was the very large size of
the Holset version at that time. Consequently it was decided to use instead a tuned damper from
Geislinger GmbH of Austria. This consists of a hub and inertia ring, with the inertia ring being
driven through a set of radially aligned leaf springs which are flooded in oil. The Geislinger
tuned damper is more compact than a viscous damper of the same damping capacity but is more
expensive. An important advantage is that its operation can be adjusted to suit the characteristics

of the particular type of engine to which it is fitted; this fine-tuning is done in cooperation with
the manufacturer. A drawback of the tuned damper is that its operation requires it to be connected
to the engine's lubricating oil system. The damper, therefore, needs an oil feed and, more
problematically, an oil drain. Oil is drained from the damper through jets located in the periphery
and so, for practical reasons, the tuned damper must be mounted inside the engine casing. (As
mentioned earlier, a viscous damper can be mounted either internally or externally.)

References
1. Paxman Sales Engineers' Handbook, Davey, Paxman & Co, c.1967/68. Published for
restricted circulation within the company. p.287.
2. As related to the author by David Legerton during a discussion in February 2008.
3. HTi Magazine, Edition 6, 2006, p.2, published by Cummins Turbo Technologies; available online
at www.holset.co.uk/mainsite/pics-related/3_1-magazines/HTi%20Issue%206_Final.pdf.
see also Holset timeline at www.holset.co.uk/mainsite/files/1_4-heritage.php
4. HTi Magazine, Edition 1, p.4, published by Holset Turbochargers; available on-line
at www.holsetaftermarket.com/mainsite/pics-related/3_1-magazines/HTi_1_1-8.pdf.
5. Paxman's World, No 5, March 1949, p.4.
6. Diesel Engineering, Winter 1980, 'Some memories of 45 years in the diesel industry', C J Hind
CEng FIMarE, pp.180ff.
7. Diesel Railway Traction, June 1950, p.138.
8. Paxman Board Minutes of the meeting held on 8th December 1938 record that Douglas
Braund's apprenticeship indentures were sealed at this meeting.
9. A Handbook on Torsional Vibration, compiled by E J Nestorides, Cambridge University Press
1958.
10. Paxman's World, No 4, December 1948, p.26.
11. Essex County Standard, 27th April 1990, p.54 (Leo Crawley obituary).
Further Reading
Paxman Sales Engineers' Handbook, pp.287-290.
Hillier's Fundamentals of Motor Vehicle Technology - Book 1, 5th Edition, V A W Hillier & Peter
Coombes, Nelson Thornes 2004, pp. 49-50.
Acknowledgements: Not being an engineer, I have been been heavily dependant on Paxman
ex-colleagues and other professional engineer friends for their help and guidance while
compiling this page on a highly technical subject. I am deeply indebted to the following for their
assistance and recollections: John Cove who joined Paxman in 1948 as a Forensic Investigator
attached to the Experimental Department and whose subsequent appointments in the Company
including Assistant Service Manager, Quality Engineer, Chief Diesel Engineer, Manager -

Engine Division, and Marketing Director; David Legerton, formerly Principal Vibration
Engineer, MAN Diesel Ltd, Paxman; Ian Drake, Chief Design Engineer and John Benham,
Senior Product Engineer of MAN Diesel & Turbo UK Ltd; Ray Roxby, formerly Chief Design
Engineer, GEC Alsthom Paxman Diesels; Alex Walford, formerly Principal Engineer Mechanical, ALSTOM Engines Ltd, Regulateurs Europa; Kevin Hosking, formerly Engineering
Manager, GEC Alsthom Paxman Diesels; Shaun Login, Senior Product Engineer, Metaldyne
International UK Ltd.

Additional Note on failures in Venezuela

John Cove has provided the following background: "I was pretty certain before I went to Venezuela that the failures were due to torsional vibrations
although not everyone in Colchester initially shared this view.
The crankshaft failures were preceded by a spate of failures of the driving plate which connected
the engine to the Voith Schneider scoop-controlled hydraulic coupling. This driving plate was
bolted to the crankshaft flange and had a diameter of about 2' 6" or maybe 3' which was the
diameter of the fluid coupling drum and it was bolted to the drum by a ring of bolts right at its
periphery. The plate was about 3/8" thick and to make it a bit flexible in case of alignment
problems it had a number of rings of sausage shaped slots cut in it. The first sign of trouble was
that these plates started cracking at the ends of the slots. The design office concluded that the
slots had weakened the plates too much and so they had some plates made without any slots and
air freighted them out. Our engineer Freddie Webb fitted them in place of the cracked ones and
immediately reported back that they caused serious increase in vibration.
The research department had a fitter called Maurice Herbert, who was based in the 'hush-hush'
building near the works pond and was occupied in making up special gear as required for our
experiments. In order to enable the torsional vibration doubters to be convinced we got him to
make a scale model of the drive plate out of thin cardboard complete with slots. He fixed the
outside edge into a solid piece of plywood and mounted a smaller piece to represent the
crankshaft flange. When you applied torque to the inner piece you could see the plate flexing
about the very places where the drive plates had been cracking. I was sure therefore that there
were torsional vibrations although we did not know what had caused them so Leo and I were
sent out to check this as in the meantime crankshafts had started breaking.
I saw an engine running with a damper blackened by heat and predicted that the crankshaft
would ultimately fracture. It took a year to do so and this indicates how low the average load is
on a drilling engine when it is just operating the drill rather than the slush pump."
http://www.paxmanhistory.org.uk/tors-vib.htm

The Danger of Power Pulleys &

Understanding the Harmonic Damper
BY STEVE DINAN OF DINAN BMW
I have been threatening for a long time to write a series of technical articles to educate
consumers and to dispel misconceptions that exist about automotive after-market technology.
Motivated by problems with customer's cars resulting from the installation of power pulleys, I
wish to explain the potential dangers of these products and address the damage they cause to
engines.
The theory behind the power pulley is that a reduction in the speed of the accessory drive will
minimize the parasitic losses that rob power from the engine. Parasitic power losses are a result
of the energy that the engine uses to turn accessory components such as the alternator and water
pump, instead of producing power for acceleration. In an attempt to minimize this energy loss,
many companies claim to produce additional power by removing the harmonic damper and
replacing it with a lightweight assembly. While a small power gain can be realized, there are a
significant number of potential problems associated with this modification, some that are small
and one which is particularly large and damaging!
The popular method for making power pulleys on E36 engines is by removing the harmonic
damper and replacing it with a lightweight alloy assembly. This is a very dangerous product
because this damper is essential to the longevity of an engine. The substitution of this part often
results in severe engine damage.
It is also important to understand that while the engine in a BMW is designed by a team of
qualified engineers, these power pulleys are created and installed by people who do not
understand some very important principles of physics. I would first like to give a brief
explanation of these principles which are critical to the proper operation of an engine.
1) Elastic Deformation
Though it is common belief that large steel parts such as crankshafts are rigid and inflexible, this
is not true. When a force acts on a crank it bends, flexes and twists just as a rubber band would.
While this movement is often very small, it can have a significant impact on how an engine
functions.
2) Natural Frequency
All objects have a natural frequency that they resonate (vibrate) at when struck with a hammer.
An everyday example of this is a tuning fork. The sound that a particular fork makes is directly
related to the frequency that it is vibrating at. This is its "natural frequency," that is dictated by
the size, shape and material of the instrument. Just like a tuning fork, a crankshaft has a natural
frequency that it vibrates at when struck. An important aspect of this principle is that when an
object is exposed to a heavily amplified order of its own natural frequency, it will begin to
resonate with increasing vigor until it vibrates itself to pieces (fatigue failure).

3) Fatigue Failure
Fatigue failure is when a material, metal in this case, breaks from repeated twisting or bending. A
paper clip makes a great example. Take a paper clip and flex it back and forth 90 or so. After
about 10 oscillations the paper clip will break of fatigue failure.
The explanation of the destructive nature of power pulleys begins with the two basic balance and
vibration modes in an internal combustion engine. It is of great importance that these modes are
understood as being separate and distinct.
1) The vibration of the engine and its rigid components caused by the imbalance of the rotating
and reciprocating parts. This is why we have counterweights on the crankshaft to offset the mass
of the piston and rod as well as the reason for balancing the components in the engine.
2) The vibration of the engine components due to their individual elastic deformations. These
deformations are a result of the periodic combustion impulses that create torsional forces on the
crankshaft and camshaft. These torques excite the shafts into sequential orders of vibration, and
lateral oscillation. Engine vibration of this sort is counteracted by the harmonic damper and is the
primary subject of this paper.
Torsional Vibration (Natural Frequency)
Every time a cylinder fires, the force twists the crankshaft. When the cylinder stops firing the
force ceases to act and the crankshaft starts to return to the untwisted position. However, the
crankshaft will overshoot and begin to twist in the opposite direction, and then back again.
Though this back-and-forth twisting motion decays over a number of repetitions due to internal
friction, the frequency of vibration remains unique to the particular crankshaft.
This motion is complicated in the case of a crankshaft because the amplitude of the vibration
varies along the shaft. The crankshaft will experience torsional vibrations of the greatest
amplitude at the point furthest from the flywheel or load.

Harmonic (sine wave) Torque Curves

Each time a cylinder fires, force is translated through the piston and the connecting rod to the
crankshaft pin. This force is then applied tangentially to, and causes the rotation of the
crankshaft.
The sequence of forces that the crankshaft is subjected to is commonly organized into variable
tangential torque curves that in turn can be resolved into either a constant mean torque curve or
an infinite number of sine wave torque curves. These curves, known as harmonics, follow orders
that depend on the number of complete vibrations (cylinder pulses) per revolution. Accordingly,
the tangential crankshaft torque is comprised of many harmonics of varying amplitudes and
frequencies. This is where the name "harmonic damper" originates.

Critical RPM's
When the crankshaft is revolving at an RPM such that the torque frequency, or one of the

harmonic sine wave frequencies coincides with the natural frequency of the shaft, resonance
occurs. Thus, the crankshaft RPM at which this resonance occurs is known a critical speed. A
modern automobile engine will commonly pass through multiple critical speeds over the range of
its possible RPM's. These speeds are categorized into either major or minor critical RPM's.
Major and Minor Critical RPMs
Major and minor critical RPM's are different due to the fact that some harmonics assist one
another in producing large vibrations, whereas other harmonics cancel each other out. Hence, the
important critical RPMs have harmonics that build on one another to amplify the torsional
motion of the crankshaft. These critical RPMs are know as the "major criticals". Conversely, the
"minor criticals" exist at RPM's that tend to cancel and damp the oscillations of the crankshaft.
If the RPM remains at or near one of the major criticals for any length of time, fatigue failure of
the crankshaft is probable. Major critical RPMs are dangerous, and either must be avoided or
properly damped. Additionally, smaller but still serious problems can result from an undamped
crankshaft. The oscillation of the crankshaft at a major critical speed will commonly sheer the
front crank pulley and the flywheel from the crankshaft. I have witnessed front pulley hub keys
being sheered, flywheels coming loose, and clutch covers coming apart. These failures have
often required crankshaft and/or gearbox replacement.
Harmonic Dampers
Crankshaft failure can be prevented by mounting some form of vibration damper at the front end
of the crankshaft that is capable of absorbing and dissipating the majority of the vibratory energy.
Once absorbed by the damper the energy is released in the form of heat, making adequate
cooling a necessity. This heat dissipation was visibly essential in Tom Milner's PTG racing M3
which channeled air from the brake ducts to the harmonic damper, in order to keep the damper at
optimal operating temperatures. While there are various types of torsional vibration dampers,
BMW engines are primarily designed with "tuned rubber" dampers.

It is also important to note that while the large springs of a dual mass flywheel absorb some of
the torsional impulses conveyed to the crankshaft, they are not harmonic dampers, and are only
responsible for a small reduction in vibration.
In addition to the crankshaft issue, other problems can result from slowing down the accessories
below their designed speeds, particularly at idle. Slowing the alternator down can result in
reduced charging of the battery, dimming of the lights, and computer malfunctions. Slowing of
the water pump and fan can result in warm running, while slowing of the power steering can
cause stiff steering at idle and groaning noises. It is possible to implement design corrections and
avoid these scenarios, but this would require additional components and/or software.
Our motto at Dinan is "Performance without sacrifice" We feel our customers expect ultra high
performance along with the legendary comfort and reliability of a standard BMW.
While it is common that a Dinan BMW is the fastest BMW you can buy, performance is not our
only goal. Dinan isn't just trying to make the fastest car. Instead a host of considerations go into
the development of our products. Dinan puts much more effort into these other areas than does
our competition.
These considerations are Performance, Reliability (Warranty), Driveability, Emissions, Value, Fit
and Finish. We feel that the power pulley is a bad way to get extra power from and engine and
the potential for serious engine damage is too great.
This is a simplified explanation meant to be comprehensible by those who are not automotive
engineers. In trying to simplify an extremely complex topic some precision was sacrificed
although we believe this explanation to be as accurate as possible. We encourage our customers
to educate themselves and understand the automotive after-market because we believe that our
products are the best researched, engineered, and fabricated products available.
For those interested in a more in depth and technical explanation of this topic, the reference book
is Advanced Engine Technology, written by Heinz Heisler MSc,BSc,FIMI,MIRTE,MCIT. Heinz
Heisler is the Head of Transportation Studies at The College of North West London. His book is
distributed in this country by the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers).
http://www.atiracing.com/products/dampers/damper_dinan.htm

EngineLabs: What are the strongest contributing factors to crankshaft vibration, and
which ones are hardest to measure and accurately predict?
Beattie, Jr: Crankshaft harmonics, vibrations or torsionals can all be used interchangeably for
the casual talking points. Remember that torsional twist, is a twist without a bend. When you get
a twist with a bend, nothing good comes of it. Cranksahft twist is inherent to the rotating
assembly in any engine. You will always have pistons on a compression stroke, a power stroke or
going up and coming down. This causes the crankshaft to twist. Too much of this twist leads to
bearing failure, and eventual crankshaft failure. Many other things are a byproduct of this twist

as well. Unchecked crankshaft twist when it does not fail the crankshaft or bearings, will show
up in other ways and is often overlooked as being the culprit. A poor performing, or undersized
damper that does not properly counteract this twist will allow oil pump failures, timing drive
system failures, flexplate or flywheel bolts that come loose, distributor gear failures, and other
various gremlins.

EngineLabs: How has the

elastomer damper design changed over the past 20 years and whats the future for this
technology?
Beattie, Jr: The biggest change in elastomer dampers has been the type of materials that can go
in them. As rubber develops and companies can use new types of vulcanized rubber to join steel
pieces of the damper together, the longer those dampers will last. However the ATI Super
Damper became the first damper to utilize two separate sized O-rings on a single inertia mass,
and be fully captured inside the shells. An OEM-style damper with two pieces can easily
separate, rotate and lose timing marks, or totally fail and come apart. The Super Damper took
care of those issues and gave engine builders a package that allowed them to build with lighter
engine parts, and turn more rpm, and still keep the torsionals in check.
EngineLabs: In terms of controlling crank vibrations, how much more effective is an internally
balanced rotating assembly than an externally balanced assembly?

Beattie, Jr: A well done externally balanced engine will perform just as well as a copy that is
internally balanced. However, for higher rpm and fast-revving race engines, internally balanced
engines are inherently easier on components and have a better overall life. The reason being is
that the mass to counteract the rotating assembly is right where it needs to be. When torsional
twist travels on a crankshaft, it runs from the front to the back of the engine, always passing
through the middle, mind you. If the mass for the proper balance is there, the better off you are.
We have done torsional testing of an internally balanced engine on a circle-track motor that was
zero balanced, then 2 percent over and 4 percent over to be sure the torsionals did not change
greatly, and the effect was minimal.
EngineLabs: What criteria should engine builders consider when choosing a damper size? What
are the pros and cons of larger/smaller dampers?
Beattie, Jr: Size matters. The smaller and lighter the damper, doesnt make it better. The damper
needs to be properly sized for the engines displacement, horsepower, max rpm and the
application of the engine. An 864ci motor with a small 5-pound damper might as well not run

one at all. And a 305ci motor with a 15pound

damper is not helping itself either. When we spec a Super Damper for a boat, off-road truck or
road-race car, we like to use a steel hub on the crank with an aluminum shelled damper assembly.
In general, the larger the cubic inch, horsepower and rpm, the larger the damper needs to be to do
its job. The correct sized damper will allow the engine to make more horsepower and live
longer. Dampers dont make horsepower, they allow the motor to run how it was designed to
run, for the camshaft timing to stay stable, and the engine to live longer. A couple extra pounds
on the front of an engine can save a lot of headaches from ever occurring in the first place.
EngineLabs: Engine harmonics is a complicated issue, but what are the talking points that
engine builders should know about when selecting parts and setting up the specs to minimize the
effects of harmful vibrations and harmonics?

Beattie, Jr: What applications are you building

for? Drag racing, road racing, off road, etc. Crankshaft material; cast usually absorbs more lowrange torsionals on a torquey low-rpm motor, while a billet crank can live longer and take more
sheer horsepower and rpm. Crank weight is important as well. Too light and you will have
bearing failures and broken cranks, no matter what damper you run. However, when the crank is
heavy for the horsepower and rpm, the damper generally needs to be heavier too with a softer
rubber compound to do the job. Some sanctioning bodies like NASCAR do not allow ATI to
supply aluminum dampers or parts for safety reasons. Steel dampers are our only choice for the
Cup, Nationwide and Truck engines, and other organizations have similar rules. So you better
find out before specing a damper. Good main caps are important for torsionals as are the
fasteners. If you are constantly getting a burnt bearing, or set of bearings, take a close look. If
they are worn from the middle out, and used up almost all the way to the edges, you are doing
good. If only the middle, or only the edges are worn, and the other contributing factors are not
showing issues, then you have torsional twist going on that a properly sized damper will help.
http://www.enginelabs.com/engine-tech/engine-harmonics/tech-5-jc-beattie-jr-of-atiperformance-explains-damper-dynamics/