LORD MR Shock Durability Exceeds HMMWV Passive Damper Spec by Factor of Four

CARY, N.C., Jan. 30, 2009 -- LORD Corporation -- a leader in the management of vibration, motion and noise -- has announced the performance level of their Magneto-Rheological (MR) active shock absorbers for military vehicle primary suspensions.

In recent lab testing conducted by LORD, MR active shock absorbers for HMMWV and other military vehicle primary suspensions surpassed 4-million cycles of durability testing. In some cases, the LORD MR shocks exceeded 5-million cycles.

"This is a significant milestone," said Steve Hildebrand, MR suspensions engineering manager. "The MR shocks exceed the HMMWV passive damper specification, which requires a sinusoidal test of 1-million cycles up to 120C. In addition, our tests are run with sine-on-sine with a side-load at higher temperatures, which is more severe, yet we exceed the HMMWV passive damper test specification by a factor of four or more. And, post-test analyses reveal no degradation of MR fluid."

Testing also included severe off-road HMMWV mission profiles with a side load. The vehicle-based durability testing exceeded 15,000 miles of accelerated, off-road operations with no degradation of MR fluid.

LORD has been designing and testing production-intent hardware for more than a year.

The durability and reliability of LORD Corporation's MR technology has been thoroughly proven in Delphi's MagneRide(TM) system for commercial automobiles. First introduced on the 2002 Corvette, the system now appears on more than 400,000 automobiles in more than a dozen models from a wide range of manufacturers including Audi, Ferrari, GM, Holden and Honda. The rapid acceptance of the technology by a wide range of manufacturers, from high-performance sports cars to SUVs, demonstrates the confidence the industry has in the performance, flexibility and reliability of LORD MR technology.

In a related effort, LORD has completed initial qualification testing of the mil-specification compliant MR shock system controller. The controller hardware is designed to accommodate any military vehicle, wheeled or tracked, 4x4 up to 8x8 wheel-ends. The controller is compliant to mil-specifications MIL-STD-1275 for power quality, MIL-STD-461 for EMC/EMI, and MIL-STD-810 for environmental factors. Further, it is capable of a 40-inch fording submersion (box depth), the connectors are MIL-DTL-38999 compatible, and the system is J1939 data bus compliant.

Unlike traditional passive suspensions with fixed characteristics, LORD Corporation's controllable MR suspensions react to vehicle and terrain conditions thousands of times per second, allowing the suspension to adapt its characteristics to the situation. This provides improved dynamic stability over passively damped systems, which can provide significant benefits.

The use of the MR shocks results in approximately 30 percent less pitch and roll, greatly improving the stability and handling. Further, the system reduces absorbed energy by 50 percent or more and peak loads by about 60 percent. This means the vehicle will experience less wear and tear, resulting in longer vehicle life, greater fuel efficiency, and ensures a much smoother ride and fewer injuries.

About LORD Corporation, MR Solutions

LORD MR technology is based on proprietary and patented fluid, damper, mount, brake and clutch designs and sophisticated computer control algorithms. When exposed to a magnetic field, MR materials change state nearly instantaneously and with complete reversibility. As a result, MR technology provides fast and infinitely variable control of energy dissipation for industrial and automotive devices. As the only provider of commercial MR fluids with more than 110 MR fluid, device, and controller algorithm patents worldwide, LORD is the largest manufacturer of MR devices and systems. For information about LORD MR applications, visit www.lord.com/mr.

About LORD Corporation

With headquarters in Cary, N.C., USA, and sales in excess of $700-MM, LORD Corporation is a privately-held company that designs, manufactures and markets devices and systems to manage mechanical motion and control noise and vibration; formulates, produces and sells general purpose and specialty adhesives and coatings; and develops products and systems utilizing magnetically responsive technologies. With manufacturing in nine countries and offices in more than 15 major business centers, LORD Corporation employs more than 2,600 worldwide. Visit www.lord.com for more information.

kkayler@constructivecommunication.com