Damper arrangement and method for designing same

1. A damper arrangement comprising:

first and second Helmholtz dampers, the first Helmholtz damper being connected in series to the second Helmholtz damper;

wherein resonance frequencies of the first Helmholtz damper and the second Helmholtz damper are close to one another such that they are shifted from one another in an amount producing a synergistic damping effect;

wherein the bandwidth of the combined first and second Helmholtz dampers has one damping area that is larger than that of the bandwidths of first and second Helmholtz dampers without said synergistic effect;

wherein the second Helmholtz damper has a second volume and a second neck connectable to the inside of a chamber in which pressure pulsations to be damped may occur; and

wherein the first Helmholtz damper comprises an entrance for cooling air.

2. A damper arrangement as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

the second Helmholtz damper has a second volume and a second neck connectable to the inside chamber in which pressure pulsations to be damped may occur;

the first Helmholtz damper has a first volume and a first neck connected to the second volume; and

the first Helmholtz damper, the second Helmholtz damper, or both are configured and arranged so that the first volume, the second volume, or both are variable volumes.

3. A damper arrangement as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising:

a cylinder and at least one slidable piston, the cylinder housing the at least one slidable piston;

wherein the cylinder and the at least one slidable piston define the first volume at a first side of the at least one slidable piston and the second volume at a second side of the at least one slidable piston; and

wherein the at least one slidable piston defines the first neck.

4. A damper arrangement as claimed in claim 3 , further comprising:

an actuator, said at least one slidable piston being connected to the actuator to adjust a position of the at least one slidable piston;

pressure pulsation sensors; and

a control unit in control communication with the actuator and in signal communication with the pressure pulsation sensors, wherein the actuator is driven by the control unit.

5. A damper arrangement as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the first neck has a variable cross section.

6. A damper arrangement as claimed in claim 5 , wherein:

the at least one slidable piston comprises two pieces slidable one over the other, the two pieces comprising alignable holes; and

further comprising a plurality of first necks with variable cross sections defined by the alignable holes in the two pieces.

7. A damper arrangement as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the resonance frequencies (ω 1 -ω 2 ) of the Helmholtz dampers satisfy the relationship.

(ω 1 -ω 2 ) 2 /(ω 1 ω 2 )≦1.

8. A damper arrangement as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the resonance frequencies (ω 1 -ω 2 ) of the Helmholtz dampers satisfy the relationship

CL =(ω 1 -ω 2 ) 2 /(ω 1 ω 2 )<<1,

wherein CL<<1 is at least one order of magnitude lower than 1.

9. A damper arrangement as claimed in claim 1 , wherein damping occurs in the frequency range between the shifted the resonance frequencies of the first Helmholtz damper and the second Helmholtz damper.

10. A damper arrangement as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a broadband character is adjusted by the flow velocity inside the first neck,

wherein the broadband characteristic depends on a non-dimensional value

q =(w 0 · L N )/(ξ· u N )

larger than 0.1,

wherein w 0 is the arithmetic mean of the single frequencies of the single dampers, L N is the length of the first neck, □ is the loss coefficient of the first neck, and u N is the flow velocity inside the first neck.

11. A method for designing a damper arrangement having at least a first Helmholtz damper connected in series to a second Helmholtz damper, the method comprising:

providing at least first and second Helmholtz dampers connected in series, the first and second Helmholtz dampers having resonance frequencies which are close to each other; and

shifting the resonance frequency of the first Helmholtz damper and the resonance frequency of the second Helmhotz damper, one with respect to the another, until their displacement produces a synergistic damping effect, wherein the bandwidth of the combined first and second Helmholtz dampers has one damping area that is larger than that of the bandwidths of first and second Helmholtz dampers without said synergistic effect,

wherein the second Helmholtz damper has a second volume and a second neck connectable to the inside of a chamber in which pressure pulsations to be damped may occur, and

wherein the first Helmholtz damper comprises an entrance for cooling air.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein shifting comprises:

regulating a first volume and/or a second volume of the first and second Helmholtz damper, respectively, or;

regulating a first cross section neck between the first and second Helmholtz damper; or both.

13. A method as claimed in claim 11 , comprising:

adjusting a broadband character by the flow velocity inside the first neck,

wherein the broadband characteristic depends on a non-dimensional value

q =( w 0 ·L N )/(ξ· u N )

larger than 0.1,

wherein ω 0 is the arithmetic mean of the single frequencies of the single dampers, L N is the length of the first neck, □ is the loss coefficient of the first neck, and u N is the flow velocity inside the first neck.

14. A method for damping pulsations with a damper arrangement,

wherein the damper arrangement comprises first and second Helmholtz dampers, the first Helmholtz damper being connected in series to the second Helmholtz damper,

wherein resonance frequencies of the first Helmholtz damper and the second Helmholtz damper are close to one another,

wherein the second Helmholtz damper has a second volume and a second neck connectable to the inside of a chamber in which pressure pulsations to be damped may occur,

wherein the first Helmholtz damper comprises an entrance for cooling air,

wherein the method comprises feeding cooling air to the first Helmholtz damper such that the frequencies of the first and second Helmholtz dampers are shifted from one another in an amount producing a synergistic damping effect, and

wherein the bandwidth of the combined first and second Helmholtz dampers has one damping area that is larger than that of the bandwidths of first and second Helmholtz dampers without the synergistic effect.