Title: Synthesis of a semi-active suspension seat for attenuation of Whole-Body Vibration and shock

Authors: Xiao Qing Ma, Subhash Rakheja, Chun-Yi Su

Addresses: CONCAVE Research Centre, Concordia University, 1455 de Maissoneuve West, Montreal H3G 1M8, Canada. ' CONCAVE Research Centre, Concordia University, 1455 de Maissoneuve West, Montreal H3G 1M8, Canada. ' CONCAVE Research Centre, Concordia University, 1455 de Maissoneuve West, Montreal H3G 1M8, Canada

Abstract: In this study, two semi-active control algorithms are synthesised on the basis of the measured nonlinear force-velocity properties of a Magneto-Rheological (MR) damper, including the current-dependent hysteresis and post yield saturation. The control algorithms employ the well-known sky-hook control condition function, suspension travel limits and a modulation function to compensate for the switching discontinuities. The results show that the proposed semi-active control synthesis could help achieve improved shock isolation while retaining adequate control of continuous WBV. A Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) test and simulation platform are developed for tuning of the proposed semi-active controllers and validation of the analytical formulations.

Keywords: magnetorheological dampers; semi-active suspension seat; HIL; hardware-in-the-loop; simulation; shock isolation; vehicle vibration; sky-hook control; vehicle suspensions; whole-body vibration; vehicle design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2008.020885

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2008 Vol.47 No.1/2/3/4, pp.157 - 175

Published online: 22 Oct 2008 *

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