Operating Behavior and Damper Characteristics
As previously mentioned, dampers today operate without exception based on hydraulics. The damping force FD is a function of the compression velocity, as shown.
The "sign ()" indicates the direction of the damper force. The damper characteristics describe the functional relation between the damping force and compression velocity. In order to determine the damping characteristics of a damper in application, the damping forces can be measured on a testing machine consisting of a thrust-crank mechanism of constant stroke and varying test speeds, which produce different max. piston speeds in each case.
In order to adjust the damper characteristics, the max. compressive and rebound forces are measured as functions of the max. piston speed. The operating diagram and characteristic are closely associated.