A mechanical snubber is a mechanical device designed to protect components from excess

shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emergen ...

or sway caused by

seismic Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

disturbances or other transient forces. During normal operating conditions, the snubber allows for movement in

tension Tension may refer to: Science * Psychological stress * Tension (physics), a force related to the stretching of an object (the opposite of compression) * Tension (geology), a stress which stretches rocks in two opposite directions * Voltage or el ...

and

compression Compression may refer to: Physical science *Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces *Compression member, a structural element such as a column *Compressibility, susceptibility to compression * Gas compression *Compression ratio, of a ...

. When an impulse event occurs, the snubber becomes activated and acts as a restraint device. The device becomes rigid, absorbs the dynamic energy, and transfers it to the supporting structure.

The image at right shows an isometric view of one style of mechanical snubber. When a disturbance occurs that exceeds the acceleration threshold of the

snubber A snubber is a device used to suppress ("snub") a phenomenon such as voltage transients in electrical systems, pressure transients in fluid systems (caused by for example water hammer) or excess force or rapid movement in mechanical systems. Ele ...

, the ball screw and drum produce

angular momentum In physics, angular momentum (rarely, moment of momentum or rotational momentum) is the rotational analog of linear momentum. It is an important physical quantity because it is a conserved quantity—the total angular momentum of a closed syst ...

to the inertia mass. The inertial resistance of the mass engages the resilient capstan to tighten around a hardened mandrel, which is part of the structural tube. This, in turn, causes restraining force against the rotation of the ball screw. During standard operation, the associated acceleration is far below the threshold limit of the snubber and will not activate the capstan spring.

Applications

alt=Mechanical Snubber in the Field, Mechanical Snubber in Application - Piping Technology Process Impulse Events *

water hammer Hydraulic shock (colloquial: water hammer; fluid hammer) is a pressure surge or wave caused when a fluid in motion, usually a liquid but sometimes also a gas is forced to stop or change direction suddenly; a momentum change. This phenomenon com ...

* tripped valve * pipe rupture * protection from overtravel or overstress by reducing the structural response

External impulse events

* seismic event (such as an earthquake)Seismic stops for nuclear power plants
Anderson, P.H., Oct. 1, 1989, (retrieved 28 September 2010) * unexpected failure of adjacent components * high wind loads

References

{{Reflist Structural connectors