ELASTOMER MOUNTS IN AUTOMOBILES

Elastomer mounts have the particular feature that their properties cha nge under the influence of dynamic and static stress, as well as envir onmental influences. These changes can be seen particularly clearly wh en comparing older vehicles with a new vehicle, To evaluate such chang es in properties, static and dynamic tests have been carried out in th e laboratory under environmental conditions, comparative to road tests , The results show which stresses and environmental influences cause t he properties to change significantly. Furthermore, they make clear th at - as a rule - a simple laboratory test cannot be defined which effe cts exactly the same property changes as a road test, with regard to t he change in static and dynamic characteristic values, Depending on th e type of mount and elastomer used, however, laboratory tests can be s elected which provide useful evidence as compared with driving tests. The amount of costly road tests can be clearly reduced as a result.