Semi-active control for vibration attenuation of vehicle suspension with symmetric MR damper

A semi-active force tracking PI controller is formulated and analyzed for a magnetorheological (MR) fluid-based damper in conjunction with a quarter-vehicle model. Two different models of the MR-damper are integrated into the closed-loop system model, which includes: a model based upon the mean force-velocity (f-v) behaviour; and a model synthesis comprising inherent nonsmooth hysteretic force and the force limiting properties of the MR damper. The vehicle models are analyzed to study the vibration attenuation performance of the MR-damper using the semi-active force tracking PI control algorithm. The simulation results are also presented to demonstrate the influence of the damper nonlinearity, specifically the hysteresis, on the suspension performance. The results show that the proposed control strategy can yield superior vibration attenuation performance of the vehicle suspension actuated by the controllable MR-damper not only in the sprung mass resonance and the ride zones, but also in the vicinity of the wheel-hop. The results further show that the presence of damper hystersis deteriorates the suspension performance.

Semi-active Sliding Mode Control of Vehicle Suspension with Magneto-rheological Damper

The vehicle semi-active suspension with magneto-theological damper（MRD） has been a hot topic since this decade, in which the robust control synthesis considering load variation is a challenging task. In this paper, a new semi-active controller based upon the inverse model and sliding mode control （SMC） strategies is proposed for the quarter-vehicle suspension with the magneto-rheological （MR） damper, wherein an ideal skyhook suspension is employed as the control reference model and the vehicle sprung mass is considered as an uncertain parameter. According to the asymptotical stability of SMC, the dynamic errors between the plant and reference systems are used to derive the control damping force acquired by the MR quarter-vehicle suspension system. The proposed modified Bouc-wen hysteretic force-velocity （F-v） model and its inverse model of MR damper, as well as the proposed continuous modulation （CM） filtering algorithm without phase shift are employed to convert the control damping force into the direct drive current of the MR damper. Moreover, the proposed semi-active sliding mode controller （SSMC）-based MR quarter-vehicle suspension is systematically evaluated through comparing the time and frequency domain responses of the sprung and unsprung mass displacement accelerations, suspension travel and the tire dynamic force with those of the passive quarter-vehicle suspension, under three kinds of varied amplitude harmonic, rounded pulse and real-road measured random excitations. The evaluation results illustrate that the proposed SSMC can greatly suppress the vehicle suspension vibration due to uncertainty of the load, and thus improve the ride comfort and handling safety. The study establishes a solid theoretical foundation as the universal control scheme for the adaptive semi-active control of the MR full-vehicle suspension decoupled into four MR quarter-vehicle sub-suspension systems.

SEMI-ACTIVE CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION WITH MAGNETO-RHEOLOGICAL DAMPERS:PART Ⅰ——CONTROLLER SYNTHESIS AND EVALUATION

A modified skyhook-based semi-active controller is proposed for implementing an asymmetric control suspension design with symmetric magneto-rheological （MR） dampers. The controller is formulated in current form, which is modulated by integrating a continuous modulation and an asymmetric damping force generation algorithms, so as to effectively minimize switching and hysteretic effects from the MR-damper. The proposed controller is implemented with a quarter-vehicle MR-suspension model, and its relative response characteristics are thus evaluated in terms of defined performance measures under varying amplitude harmonic, rounded pulse and random excitations. The sensitivity of the semi-active suspension performance to variations in controller parameters is thoroughly evaluated. The results illustrate that the proposed skyhook-based asymmetric semi-active MR-suspension controller has superior robustness on the system parameter variations, and can achieve desirable multi-objective suspension performance.

SEMI-ACTIVE CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION WITH MAGNETO-RHEOLOGICAL DAMPERS PARTⅡ——EVALUATION OF SUSPENSION PERFORMANCE

The design and analysis of an intelligent vehicle suspension with MR dampers should address hybrid semi-active control goals, such as rejection of current-switching discontinuity and MR-damper hysteresis, asymmetric damping from the symmetric MR-damper design, robustness on the vehicle operation parameter uncertainties and consideration of essential multiple suspension goals. Following the proposed skyhook-based asymmetric semi-active controller （Part I ） for achieving the above goals, herein, a set of suspension performance measures and three kinds of varying amplitude harmonic, rounded pulse and really measured random excitations are systematically defined, and the sensitivity of quarter-vehicle MR-suspension performance to variations in operating conditions is thoroughly analyzed. The results illustrate that the proposed skyhook-based semi-active MR-suspension in the asymmetric mode yields relatively superior dynamic responses to meet the multiple suspension performances of ride, rattle space, road-holding and dynamic tire force transmitted to the pavement, and has desirable robustness on variations in operating conditions of vehicle load and speed and the road roughness.

Neuron PI control for semi-active suspension system of tracked vehicle

A neuron proportion integration (PI) control strategy for semi-active suspension system of tracked vehicle was proposed based on its unique structure and the multiple and complex environment of the driving traffic. An adaptive genetic algorithm is used to optimize the parameters of the neuron PI controller. The simulation result of the neuron PI control for semi-active suspension system of tracked vehicle indicates that the vertical amplitude,pitch angle and vertical acceleration of the vehicle are well controlled. The root mean square (RMS) of the vertical amplitude decreases by 37.2%,and 45.2% for the pitch angle,38.6% for the vertical acceleration. The research of neuron PI control experiment for the semi-active suspension system of the tracked vehicle model mining in benthal indicates that the RMS of the weight acceleration vibrating along the vertical direction decreases by 29.5%,the power spectral density resonance peak of the acceleration of the car body decreases by 23.8%.

A tunable fuzzy logic controller for the vehicle semi-active suspension system

On the basis of analyzing the system constitution of vehicle semi-active suspension, a 4-DOF (degree of freedom) dynamic model is established. A tunable fuzzy logic controller is designed by using without quantification method and taking into account the uncertainty, nonlinearity and complexity of parameters for a vehicle suspension system. Simulation to test the performance of this controller is performed under random excitations and definite disturbances of a C grade road, and the effects of time delay and changes of system parameters on the vehicle suspension system are researched. The numerical simulation shows that the performance of the designed tunable fuzzy logic controller is effective, stable and reliable.

Fuzzy Logic Control for Semi-Active Suspension System of Tracked Vehicle

The model of half a tracked vehicle semi-active suspension is established. The fuzzy logic controller of the semi-active suspension system is constructed. The acceleration of driver's seat and its time derivative are used as the inputs of the fuzzy logic controller, and the fuzzy logic controller output determines the semi-active suspension controllable damping force. The fuzzy logic controller is to minimize the mean square root of acceleration of the driver's seat. The control forces of controllable dampers behind the first road wheel are obtained by time delay, and the delay times are determined by the vehicle speed and axles distances. The simulation results show that this control method can decrease the acceleration of driver's seat and the suspension travel of the first road wheel, the ride quality is improved obviously.

Semi-active control of a vehicle suspension using magneto-rheological damper

A semi-active magneto-rheological （MR） damper was experimentally investigated and compared to an original equipment manufacturer （OEM） damper for a passenger vehicle, by using a quarter car models. A full-scale two-degree-of-freedom quarter car experimental set-up was constructed to study the vehicle suspension. On-off skyhook controller and Fuzzy-Lyapunov skyhook controller （FLSC） were employed to control the input current for MR damper so as to achieve the desired damping force. Tests were done to evaluate the ability of MR damper for controlling vehicle vibration. Test results show that the semi-active MR vehicle suspension vibration control system is feasible. In comparison with OEM damper, on-off and FLSC controlled MR dampers can effectively reduce the acceleration of vehicle sprtmg mass by about 15% and 24%, respectively.

A New Damper for Tracked Vehicle Suspension

The passive suspension system of tracked vehicle is designed to get its suspension parameters based on a certain common velocity and a certain road surface roughness. Its performance optimization only exists in a certain operating mode without far-ranging adaptability. Holding the damper basic frame form and applying semi-active suspension system based on MR (magnetorheological) damper, the vehicle can keep its optimum efficiency between energy dissipation and vibration reduction in all kinds of operating modes. Theoretical analysis and experiments show that the damping performances provided by this MRF(magnetorheological fluids) vane damper are same as those provided by traditional damper, and the new damper has the better controllability and adaptability.

Vibration Control of Vehicle Suspension System by Electrorheological Damper

An overview of electrorheological （ER） fluid characteristics is given. Based on the Bingham plasticity model and a simple parallel-plate model, the operation principle of ER damper is presented and a four-DOF dynamic model of a vehicle suspension is constructed. Then a semi-active control of vehicle suspension system by ER damper is obtained. According to the semi-active control theory, the acceleration frequency characteristic is achieved with Matlab toolbox. Simulation results show that the vibration of the suspension system is well controlled.