气弹簧工作机制、使用寿命及重型铰链设计相关考量（中英文）

气弹簧及其类似物在许多行业和应用中广泛使用。从飞机上的行李舱、货舱门到装甲车门，气弹簧的应用范围十分广泛。

它们相对简单的设计使其成为产生力或支撑运动物体的经济之选。但是，气弹簧在实际应用中是如何工作的呢？了解以下关键点将有助于运动控制设计：

Gas springs and their close cousins are abundant in many industries and applications. From overhead bins in airplanes, and from cargo doors to armored vehicle doors, gas springs have a variety of applications. 

Their relatively simple design makes them an affordable option to create force or support moving objects. But, how do gas springs work in practice? Your motion control design will benefit if you understand these key points:

气撑杆和气弹簧有什么区别？

Are Gas Struts Different Than Gas Springs?

气撑杆（也称压缩气弹簧）这个术语经常与气弹簧混淆。在设计这些装置时，了解它们之间的细微差别至关重要。

气撑杆的设计特点与标准气弹簧类似，但它还包含压缩气体和一个用于根据需要阻尼的电路。该电路可以控制弹簧的运动速度，无论是伸出、收回还是两者兼而有之。根据配置方式的不同，气撑杆可以产生拉力或推力。

只需稍加观察，就会发现日常生活中许多设备都使用了压缩气弹簧铰链，例如汽车掀背车的活塞或用于重型盖板的气撑杆。向下推门时，会感觉到一定的阻力。门上的锁扣在门关闭时会将加压的弹簧固定到位，但一旦打开门并开始向外拉，就会注意到压力开始积聚，并将门推回打开状态。

这些装置上的气撑杆铰链通常带有电路，以防止其推力过大过快，从而损坏门或伤害用户。

Gas strut -- also known as compression gas spring -- is a term often swapped with gas springs too. There are subtle differences that are important to understand when you’re designing with these devices.

Gas struts have similar design characteristics to standard gas springs, but they also incorporate compressed gas and a circuit for dampening the force as needed. The circuit lets you control how fast the spring moves either going out, coming back in, or both. Gas struts can pull or push depending on how you configure them.

A quick look around and you’ll find a compression gas spring hinge on many devices in your day-to-day life, such as the pistons on the hatchbacks of cars or gas struts for heavy-duty lid applications. As you push the door down, you’ll feel some resistance. The latch on the door holds the pressurized springs in place while it’s closed, but as soon as you unlatch the door and start to pull it out you, notice the pressure start to build and force the door back open.

The gas strut hinges on these devices usually have circuits that keep them from pushing so fast and hard that they damage the door or injure the user. 

气弹簧的工作原理是什么？

How Do Gas Springs Work?

气弹簧的工作原理与普通机械压缩弹簧类似。然而，它并非利用弹性形变储存势能，而是利用气缸以气动方式（即“气压驱动”）储存能量。这些弹簧通常使用氮气，但并非总是如此。

通过将活塞推入气缸来压缩气体，从而储存能量；当活塞滑出时，能量便被释放。与普通机械弹簧一样，气弹簧本身不具备运动控制能力。

虽然气弹簧的行程通常较短（即弹簧的行程相对较小），但一旦能量开始释放，弹簧开始伸展，它就会全力伸展直至达到最大行程。

根据应用的不同，这可以产生相当大的力。

值得注意的是，气弹簧提供的力几乎是恒定的。（作为参考，机械弹簧或钢丝弹簧在发生形变时力会发生变化。）

通过合理的设计，重型气弹簧可以产生惊人的力。难怪它们在冲压模具等应用中很受欢迎，因为冲压机需要施加足够的力才能从实心钢和其他坚硬金属上冲压出各种形状。

Gas springs work in a similar manner to your basic mechanical compression spring. However, instead of using elastic deformation to store potential energy, they use gas cylinders to store energy pneumatically (fancy talk for “moved by air pressure”). These springs usually use nitrogen gas, but not always. 

Compressing the gas by pushing the piston into the cylinder stores energy, which is released when the piston slides out. Just like a basic mechanical spring, gas springs don’t have any innate motion control ability.

While gas springs usually have a short stroke, meaning the spring travels over a relatively small distance, once the energy starts releasing and the spring starts expanding, it goes all out until the maximum stroke length is reached.

Depending on the application, this can produce significant force. 

Notably, gas springs provide a near-constant force. (For reference, mechanical or wire springs change force when deflected.)

With the right design, heavy-duty gas springs can produce an impressive amount of force. No wonder they’re popular in applications like stamping dies, where the stamping press needs to slam down with enough force to stamp shapes out of solid steel and other tough metals.

气弹簧的使用寿命有多长？

How Long Do Gas Springs Last?

气弹簧的一大难题在于预测其使用寿命——因为这根本无法预测。气弹簧的设计存在一些局限性，导致其在频繁使用下容易磨损。尽管一些高端产品提供长达 15 年的质保，但气弹簧的弹力和整体性能往往会逐年下降。当然，更长的使用寿命也意味着更高的价格。

如果在极端条件下使用，例如法式对开门烤箱或低温冷冻柜，气弹簧会迅速磨损，甚至造成安全隐患。在极端高温或低温环境下，设计人员通常会选择更耐用的平衡系统。这些系统能够承受高温和低温带来的额外磨损，因为它们不依赖气压。

在任何情况下，气弹簧失效最常见的原因是内部氮气和润滑油的泄漏。橡胶密封圈可能会出现以下问题：

• 裂纹

• 腐蚀

• 磨损

• 损坏

这会导致气体和油泄漏，最终导致气弹簧失效。无论气弹簧是否完全失效，压力损失都可能造成严重事故，如果不及时更换，后果不堪设想。

One of the challenges with gas springs is predicting how long they’ll last -- because you can’t. There are design limitations with gas springs that make them prone to wear when subjected to frequent use. They tend to lose a little force and general performance year after year, although some high-end options offer warranties as high as 15 years. A longer useful life, of course, comes with a higher price tag.

If they are used in extreme conditions, such as in a French door oven or a cryogenic freezer, gas springs can wear out quickly and become a hazard. In extreme heat or cold, designers often opt for longer-lasting counterbalance systems. They stand up to the extra wear and tear of heat and cold because they don’t rely on gas pressure.

In any condition, the most common reason for gas spring failure is the loss of the nitrogen gas and lubricating oil inside. You can blame the rubber seal, as over time it sustains

• Cracks

• Corrosion

• Wear

• Damage

This leads to the escape of gas and oil, eventually resulting in the failure of the spring. Loss of pressure in gas spring, whether it’s totally failed yet or not, may cause a serious accident if you don’t replace it in time. 

气弹簧的其他注意事项

Other Concerns With Gas Springs

气弹簧最大的隐患在于爆炸风险。气弹簧绝不应用于极端温度产品，也不应用于医疗或食品应用领域，因为泄漏的材料可能会造成污染。气弹簧内部压力很高，尤其是在加热的情况下。在这些产品中，定制铰链制造专家通常会改用机械弹簧铰链设计。

气弹簧的最后一个主要考虑因素是可调节性。气弹簧无法在使用寿命中途进行调节，因此在选择气弹簧时，需要确保其设计能够满足长期使用需求。设计人员通常会选择初始阶段提供较大弹力的气弹簧，这样即使弹力随时间推移而减弱，也能继续正常工作。想想一辆全新的掀背车，刚买来的时候关门可能很费劲。随着时间的推移，关门会变得更容易；有时，在弹簧寿命即将结束时，车门甚至会下垂。

The biggest concern with gas springs is the risk of explosion. A gas spring should never have a home in extreme-temperature products, nor in medical or food applications where leaking materials could cause contamination. The internal pressure is simply high with gas springs, particularly when you apply heat. In these products, custom hinge fabrication experts often use mechanical spring hinge designs instead.

The last major consideration with gas springs is adjustability. They cannot be adjusted mid-life, so you need to be sure that you have the design you want over the long term when you go with gas springs.  Designers will often pick a gas spring that initially provides excessive force so that as it loses force overtime, it’ll still work. Think of a brand-new hatchback and how hard it can be to close when you first buy it. Over time, closing it becomes easier; sometimes the door even sags near the end of the spring’s useful life.

机械弹簧 vs. 气弹簧

Mechanical Springs Vs. Gas Springs

气弹簧能以较低的成本为任何运动控制或平衡设计提供助力。气弹簧的阻尼特性使其能够实现缓闭功能，防止门、盖或罩子猛烈关闭。

然而，在许多其他项目中，机械弹簧具有以下优势：

• 更安全

• 从长远来看更具成本效益

• 质量更高

• 可调节

Gas springs provide a cheap boost to any motion control or counterbalance design. The ability of gas struts to include dampening features can introduce a slow-close feature to prevent slamming of a door, lid, or cover.

In many other projects, though, a mechanical spring is:

• Safer

• More cost-effective in the long-term

• Higher-quality

• Adjustable