Design and control of electronic control suspension using a magneto-rheological shock absorber

Abstract

This paper investigates the design and control of electronic control suspension (ECS) equipped with a controllable magneto-rheological (MR) shock absorber and appropriate control strategy. In order to achieve this goal, a cylindrical-type MR fluid shock absorber which satisfies the design specification for Macpherson strut-type suspension for a middle-sized commercial passenger vehicle is designed using an optimization methodology. After experimentally evaluating the field-dependent characteristics of the manufactured MR shock absorber, a quarter-vehicle MR ECS system, consisting of sprung mass, spring, tyre, controller, and the MR shock absorber, is established in order to investigate the ride comfort and driving stability performance. On the basis of the governing equation of motion of the suspension system, five control strategies (soft, hard, comfort, sport, and optimal mode) are formulated. The proposed control strategies are then experimentally realized with the quarter-vehicle MR ECS system. Control performances such as vertical acceleration of the car body and tyre deflection are evaluated in both time and frequency domains under various road conditions. In addition, a comparative study of vehicle motion with a full-vehicle MR ECS system is undertaken to investigate inherent control characteristics, using computer simulation.

Keywords

magneto-rheological (MR) fluid MR shock absorber electronic control suspension (ECS)ride comfort driving stability

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Gillespie

T. D.

Fundamentals of vehicle dynamics, 1992 (Society of Automotive Engineers, Warrendale, Pennsylvania).

Elbeheiry

E. M.

Karnopp

D. C.

Elaraby

M. E.

Abdelraaouf

A. M.

Advanced ground vehicle suspension systems – a classified bibliography. Vehicle System Dynamics, 1995, 24, 231–258.

Gordaninejad

Ray

Wang

Control of forced vibration using multi-electrode electro-rheological fluid dampers. ASME J. Vibration and Acoustics, 1997, 119(4), 527–531.

Wereley

N. M.

Pang

Nondimensional analysis of semi-active electrorheological and magnetorheological dampers using approximate parallel plate models. Smart Mater. Structs, 1998, 7(5), 732–743.

Carlson

J. D.

Catanzarite

D. M.

St Clair

K. A.

Commercial magnetorheological fluid devices. Int. J. Modern Physics B, 1996, 10, 2857–2865.

Spencer

B. F.

Jr Dyke

S. J.

Sain

M. K.

Carlson

J. D.

Phenomenological model for a magnetorheological damper. J. Engng Mechanics ASCE, 1997, 123, 230–238.

Kamath

G. M.

Wereley

N. M.

Jolly

M. R.

Characterization of magnetorheological helicopter lag dampers. J. Am. Helicopter Soc., 1999, 44, 234–248.

Lee

H. S.

Choi

S. B.

Control and response characteristics of a magnetorheological fluid damper for passenger vehicles. J. Intell. Mater. Systems Structs, 2000, 11, 80–87.

Choi

S. B.

Sung

K. G.

Vibration control of magnetorheological damper system subjected to parameter variations. Int. J. Vehicle Design, 2008, 46, 94–110.

10.

Seong

M. S.

Choi

S. B.

Han

Y. M.

Damping force control of a vehicle MR damper using a Preisach hysteretic compensator. Smart Mater. Structs, 2009, 18, 1–13.

11.

Gorodkin

Lukianovich

Kordonski

Magnetorheological throttle valve in passive damping systems. J. Intell. Mater. Systems Structs, 1998, 9, 637–641.

12.

S. J.

Wang

G. H.

Chen

New type relief valve using magnetorheological fluid (Report), 2002 (Harbin Institute of Technology, People’s Republic of China).

13.

H. X.

Wang

D. H.

Liao

W. H.

Design and modeling of a magnetorheological valve with both annular and radial flow paths. J. Intell. Mater. Systems Structs, 2006, 17, 327–334.

14.

Yoo

J. H.

Wereley

N. M.

Design of a high-efficiency magnetorheological valve. J. Intell. Mater. Systems Structs, 2002, 13, 679–685.

15.

Choi

S. B.

Song

H. J.

Lee

H. H.

Lim

S. C.

Kim

J. H.

Choi

H. J.

Vibration control of a passenger vehicle featuring magnetorheological engine mounts. Int. J. Vehicle Design, 2003, 33, 2–16.

16.

Choi

S. B.

Hong

S. R.

Sung

K. G.

Sohn

J. W.

Optimal control of structural vibrations using a mixed-mode magnetorheological fluid mount. Int. J. Mechanical Sciences, 2008, 50(3), 59–568.

17.

Choi

S. B.

Hong

S. R.

Cheong

C. C.

Park

Y. K.

Comparison of field-controlled characteristics between ER and MR clutches. J. Intell. Mater. Systems Structs, 1999, 10, 615–619.

18.

Liu

W. H.

Kosasih

P. B.

Zhang

X. Z.

Development of an MR-brake-based haptic device. Smart Mater. Structs, 2006, 15, 1960–1966.

19.

White

F. M.

Fluid mechanics, 1994 (McGraw-Hill, New York).

20.

Sung

K. G.

Han

Y. M.

Choi

S. B.

Geometric optimization of controllable shock absorbers for commercial passenger vehicle. Proceedings of the SPIE’s 15th Annual Symposium on Smart structures and materials, San Diego, California, 9–13 March 2008, SPIE, Vol. 6928, pp. 69280.

21.

Wereley

N. M.

Lindler

Rosenfield

Stanway

Biviscous damping behavior in electrorheological shock absorber. Smart Mater. Structs, 2004, 13, 743–752.

22.

Nigam

N. C.

Narayanan

Applications of random vibrations, 1994 (Springer, New York).

23.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Mechanical vibration and shock – evaluation of human exposure to whole-body vibration, 1997 (ISO2631-1:1997).

24.

Lin

K. Y.

Hwang

J. R.

Chang

S. H.

Fung

C. P.

Chang

J. M.

System dynamics and ride quality assessment of automobile. SAE paper 01-1225 2006.