Title: Design and characterisation of external orifice semi-active suspension system for armoured vehicle application

Authors: Mohamad Hafiz Ikhwan Bin Mohd Amin; Khisbullah Hudha; Zulkiffli Abd Kadir; Noor Hafizah Amer

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Univerisiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Malaysia ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Univerisiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Malaysia ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Univerisiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Malaysia ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Univerisiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Malaysia

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to investigate the force-velocity characteristics of a new design of external orifice semi-active suspension system (EOSASS). EOSASS is a class of semi-active system where the orifice area is controlled electronically using an electric motor. The idea of EOSASS is to modify the internal fixed orifice of the existing passive damper into externally controllable using hydraulic unit. The behaviour of the EOSASS is tested in terms of its force-velocity and force-displacement characteristics using Instron 8801 Servohydraulic fatigue testing system and WaveMatrix dynamic testing software. The ratio of the orifice opening area for the compression and extension on the hydraulic unit is varied in order to study the hysteresis behaviour of the damper. From the experimental results, the relationship between the damping force and the ratio of orifice opening during extension and compression are obtained. It was verified that decreasing the ratio of orifice opening will produce higher damping force in both compression and extension stages.

Keywords: semi-active suspension system; external orifice; EOSASS; damper unit; hydraulic unit; force-velocity characterisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVNV.2017.086034

International Journal of Vehicle Noise and Vibration, 2017 Vol.13 No.1, pp.73 - 86

Received: 09 Mar 2016
Accepted: 20 Mar 2017
Published online: 21 Aug 2017 *

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