Triple Convoluted Air Spring/Air Suspension W01-358-8016/FT330-29 433 Air Bags

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DESCRIPTION

air spring, load-carrying component of an air suspension system used on machines, automobiles, and buses. A system used on buses consists of an air compressor, an air-supply tank, leveling valves, check valves,bellow, and connecting piping. Basically, an air-spring bellows is a column of air confined within a rubber and fabric container that looks like an automobile tire or two or three tires stacked on top of one another. The check valves admit additional air to the bellows from the air-supply tank to maintain vehicle height when the load is increased, and the leveling valves vent excess air from the bellows when the vehicle rises because of unloading. The vehicle thus remains at a fixed height regardless of load. Although an air spring is flexible under normal loads, it becomes progressively stiffer when compressed under an increased load. Air suspension was introduced on some luxury cars in the late 1950s, but it was dropped after several model years. Recently, new leveling systems have been developed for passenger cars, including air-adjustable rear shock absorbers; some air-spring systems operate without an air compressor.

Air springs have been used in heavy duty vehicle suspension systems for nearly a century, where they have been able to provide usefulness by taking advantage of the compressed air required for vehicle braking systems. Air springs have provided a two-fold advantage over mechanical leaf- or coil-springs. One advantage with air suspension is the extra comfort provided by being able to vary the air pressure inside the spring, which changes the spring rate, and therefore, ride quality. Additionally, because variable control over air pressure adjusts the deck or trailer height, aligning loading docks to the level of the deck is possible when dock plates are unavailable.

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