| Harmonic Balancer |
Article Index for Harmonic |
Website Links For Harmonic |
Information AboutHarmonic Balancer |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HARMONIC BALANCER | |
| engine technology | |
|
Every time the cylinders fire, torque is imparted to the crankshaft. The crankshaft deflects under this torque, which sets up vibrations when the torque is released. At certain engine speeds the torques imparted by the cylinders are in synch with the vibrations in the crankshaft, which results in a phenomenon called Resonance . This resonance causes stress beyond what the crankshaft can withstand, resulting in crankshaft failure. To prevent this vibration, a harmonic balancer is attached to the front part of the crankshaft. The damper is composed of two elements: a mass and an energy dissipating element. The mass resists the acceleration of the vibration and the rubber/clutch/fluid element dissipates the energy of vibration. There has been a trend at times by some "performance enthusiasts" to remove the harmonic balancers on their cars. The argument is that they aren't necessary and their mass reduces the performance of the engine. This is not true however as most vehicles see an increase in power when fitted with a proper harmonic balancer; in addition the risk of destroying the entire engine is too high for the marginal gain that might be realized by removing the harmonic balancer. |
|
|