Ride quality evaluation of the soil compactor cab supplemented by auxiliary hydraulic mounts via simulation and experiment

In order to evaluate the ride quality of the soil compactor cab supplemented by the auxiliary hydraulic mounts (AHM), a nonlinear dynamic model of the soil compactor interacting with the off-road deformable terrain is established based on Matlab/Simulink sofware. The power spectral density (PSD) and the weighted root mean square (RMS) of acceleration responses of the vertical driver s seat, the cab s pitch and roll angle are chosen as objective functions in low-frequency range. Experimental investigation is also used to verify the accuracy of the model. The influence of the damping coefficients of the AHM on the cab s ride quality is analyzed, and damping coefficients are then optimized via a genetic algorithm program. The research results show that the cab s rubber mounts added by the AHM clearly improve the ride quality under various operating conditions. Particularly, with the optimal damping coefficients of the front-end mounts c a 1,2 = 1 500 N · s/m and of the rear-end mounts c a 3,4 =2 335 N · s/m, the weighted RMS values of the driver s seat, the cab s pitch and roll angle are reduced by 22.2%, 18.8%, 58.7%, respectively. Under the condition of the vehicle travelling, with the optimal damping coefficients of c a 1,2 = 1 500 N · s/m and c a 3,4 =1 882 N · s/m, the maximum PSD values of the driver s seat, the cab s pitch and roll angle are clearly decreased by 36.7%, 54.7% and 50.6% under the condition of the vehicle working.

A New Method for Ride Quality Analysis of Vehicle

Current spectral analysis for evaluating the rail ride quality effectively is based on the sampling data at a uniform time interval, but the train is of fluctuation velocity in motion, which results in a non-uniform interval between consecutive sampling data. Therefore the accuracy of routine spectral analysis is in doubt when applying it in evaluating the rail ride quality. This paper presents a new way, namely, re-sampling with variable frequency to eliminate the influence of the train's uneven velocity. Its feature is that there is no need for precision measurement of the train's moving speed. Experiment results from the test-bed of rolling stock vibration show that it is valid.

Low-frequency ride comfort of vibratory rollers equipped with cab hydro-pneumatic mounts

Based on the advantages of hydraulic and pneumatic mounts,a new hydro-pneumatic mount(HPM)is proposed to improve the low-frequency ride comfort of vibration rollers.Through the experiment of the vibratory roller,a nonlinear vehicle dynamic model working on off-road soil grounds is then established to assess the HPM's ride comfort in the low-frequency region.Two indices,the power spectral density(PSD)acceleration and root mean square(RMS)acceleration of the operator vibration and cab shaking,are chosen as objective functions in both the frequency and time regions.The research results show that when the cab isolations are equipped with the HPM,the RMS values of the operator's seat,cab's pitch and roll angles are reduced by 35%,42%and 53%;and the maximum PSD of the operator's seat,cab's pitch and roll angles are decreased by 39%,59%and 65%,respectively.Consequently,the characteristics of the nonlinear damper and high-static stiffness of HPM can greatly reduce the operator vibration and cab shaking in the low-frequency region when compared to the vibratory roller's cab using the rubber mounts.

Estimation of speed-related car body acceleration limits with quantile regression

Purpose–This study aimed to facilitate a rapid evaluation of track service status and vehicle ride comfort based on car body acceleration.Consequently,a low-cost,data-driven approach was proposed for analyzing speed-related acceleration limits in metro systems.Design/methodology/approach–A portable sensing terminal was developed to realize easy and efficient detection of car body acceleration.Further,field measurements were performed on a 51.95-km metro line.Data from 272 metro sections were tested as a case study,and a quantile regression method was proposed to fit the control limits of the car body acceleration at different speeds using the measured data.Findings–First,the frequency statistics of the measured data in the speed-acceleration dimension indicated that the car body acceleration was primarily concentrated within the constant speed stage,particularly at speeds of 15.4,18.3,and 20.9 m/s.Second,resampling was performed according to the probability density distribution of car body acceleration for different speed domains to achieve data balance.Finally,combined with the traditional linear relationship between speed and acceleration,the statistical relationships between the speed and car body acceleration under different quantiles were determined.We concluded the lateral/vertical quantiles of 0.8989/0.9895,0.9942/0.997,and 0.9998/0.993 as being excellent,good,and qualified control limits,respectively,for the lateral and vertical acceleration of the car body.In addition,regression lines for the speedrelated acceleration limits at other quantiles(0.5,0.75,2s,and 3s)were obtained.Originality/value–The proposed method is expected to serve as a reference for further studies on speedrelated acceleration limits in rail transit systems.

Experimental investigation on vibration characteristics of the medium-low-speed maglev vehicle-turnout coupled system

The steel turnout is one of the key components in the medium–low-speed maglev line system.However,the vehicle under active control is prone to vehicle–turnout coupled vibration,and thus,it is necessary to identify the vibration characteristics of this coupled system through field tests.To this end,dynamic performance tests were conducted on a vehicle–turnout coupled system in a medium–low-speed maglev test line.Firstly,the dynamic response data of the coupled system under various operating conditions were obtained.Then,the natural vibration characteristics of the turnout were analysed using the free attenuation method and the finite element method,indicating a good agreement between the simulation results and the measured results;the acceleration response characteristics of the coupled system were analysed in detail,and the ride quality of the vehicle was assessed by Sperling index.Finally,the frequency distribution characteristics of the coupled system were discussed.All these test results could provide references for model validation and optimized design of medium–low-speed maglev transport systems.

Use of generated artificial road profiles in road roughness evaluation

In the evaluation of road roughness and its effects on vehicles response in terms of ride quality, loads induced on pavement, drivers＇ comfort, etc., it is very common to generate road profles based on the equation provided by ISO 8608 standard, according to which it is possible to group road surface profiles into eight different classes. However, real profiles are significantly different from the artificial ones because of the non-stationary fea- ture of the first ones and the not full capability of the ISO 8608 equation to correctly describe the frequency content of real road profiles. In this paper, the international roughness index, the frequency-weighted vertical acceleration awz according to ISO 2631, and the dynamic load index are applied both on artificial and real profiles, highlighting the different results obtained. The analysis carried out in this work has highlighted some limitation of the ISO 8608 approach in the description of performance and conditions of real pavement profiles. Furthermore, the different sensitivity of the various indices to the fitted power spectral density parameters is shown, which should be taken into account when performing analysis using artificial profiles.

Applying machine learning for cars’semi-active air suspension under soft and rigid roads

To improve the ride quality and enhance the control efficiency of cars’semi-active air suspensions(SASs)under various surfaces of soft and rigid roads,a machine learning(ML)method is proposed based on the optimized rules of the fuzzy control(FC)method and car dynamic model for application in SASs.The root-mean-square(RMS)acceleration of the driver’s seat and car’s pitch angle are chosen as the objective functions.The results indicate that a soft surface obviously influences a car’s ride quality,particularly when it is traveling at a high-velocity range of over 72 km/h.Using the ML method,the car’s ride quality is improved as compared to those of FC and without control under different simulation conditions.In particular,compared with those cars without control,the RMS acceleration of the driver’s seat and car’s pitch angle using the ML method are respectively reduced by 30.20% and 19.95% on the soft road and 34.36% and 21.66% on the rigid road.In addition,to optimize the ML efficiency,its learning data need to be updated under all various operating conditions of cars.

Kinematic characterization and optimization of vehicle front-suspension design based on ADAMS

To improve the suspension performance and steering stability of light vehicles, we built a kinematic simulation model of a whole independent double-wishbone suspension system by using ADAMS software, created random excitations of the test platforms of respectively the left and the right wheels according to actual running conditions of a vehicle, and explored the changing patterns of the kinematic characteristic parameters in the process of suspension motion. The irrationality of the suspension guiding mechanism design was pointed out through simulation and analysis, and the existent problems of the guiding mechanism were optimized and calculated. The results show that all the front-wheel alignment parameters, including the camber, the toe, the caster and the inclination, only slightly change within corresponding allowable ranges in design before and after optimization. The optimization reduces the variation of the wheel-center distance from 47.01 mm to a change of 8.28 mm within the allowable range of ?10 mm to 10 mm, promising an improvement of the vehicle steering stability. The optimization also confines the front-wheel sideways slippage to a much smaller change of 2.23 mm; this helps to greatly reduce the wear of tires and assure the straight running stability of the vehicle.

Measuring and evaluating of road roughness conditions with a compact road profiler and ArcGIS

With a wide range of requirements throughout the world, high-quality road management is subject to increasing demand from a perspective of customer-oriented levels of service. In recent years, road administrators are requested to create a visual map of a road network to monitor conditions. To fulfill these requirements, this study conducted as follows. Firstly, this paper introduces a new compact road profiler to collect the profile data at ease. Using the international roughness index （IRI） to assess public roads in local cities of Japan＇s Hokkaido prefecture, this study also provides real-time monitoring of pavement roughness conditions. Moreover, this study deals with an effective method for visualizing collected IRI data as an attribute in a geographic information system （GIS） and the database of Japan digital road map （DRM）. Secondly, the authors present the measurement results of IRI at two different cities during different seasons by using GIS to compare the road conditions. According to the results clarified on different statistical characteristics of road profiles, this study recommends that it is necessary to establish pavement management system （PMS） in consideration of road class, network of local city, and evaluation and management of road conditions in winter quantitatively. Finally, the authors measure and evaluate ride quality by assessing differences between the inner wheel path （IWP） and outer wheel path （OWP） of the vehicle into account, using the previously mentioned profilers and the driving simulator, which is called KITDS. Results show that information from both wheel paths contributes to improve current monitoring process regarding pavement surface, and expects to construct a high level of PMS for road administration in the future.