Computational model of conventional engine mounts for commercial vehicles: validation and application

In this paper, a computational model of conventional engine mounts for commercial vehicles comprising elastic, viscous and friction functional components, which expresses the nonlinear behaviour of the dynamic stiffness and damping of mounts as functions of both frequency and amplitude of excitation, is developed. Optimisation approach is implemented to identify model parameters using measurement data. The developed model has been validated against measurement data for harmonic excitations with a frequency range of 5–100 Hz and an amplitude range of 0.025–2 mm employing three different engine mounts used in heavy trucks. The model shows good and admissible agreement with measurement data keeping the tolerance of estimation below 11%. Simulations of engine vibration dynamics are presented with both proposed model and commonly applied Kelvin–Voigt model of the mounts. The developed model can be used in complete vehicle advanced dynamic analyses and also in the design of semi-active and active engine mounting systems for commercial vehicles.     

Introducing a new semi-active engine mount using force controlled variable stiffness

This work introduces a new concept in designing semi-active engine mounts. Engine mounts are under continuous development to provide better and more cost-effective engine vibration control. Passive engine mounts do not provide satisfactory solution. Available semi-active and active mounts provide better solutions but they are more complex and expensive. The variable stiffness engine mount (VSEM) is a semi-active engine mount with a simple ON–OFF control strategy. However, unlike available semi-active engine mounts that work based on damping change, the VSEM works based on the static stiffness change by using a new fast response force controlled variable spring. The VSEM is an improved version of the vibration mount introduced by the authors in their previous work. The results showed significant performance improvements over a passive rubber mount. The VSEM also provides better vibration control than a hydromount at idle speed. Low hysteresis and the ability to be modelled by a linear model in low-frequency are the advantages of the VSEM over the vibration isolator introduced earlier and available hydromounts. These specifications facilitate the use of VSEM in the automotive industry, however, further evaluation and developments are needed for this purpose.     

汽车发动机悬置系统动刚度模态分析

建立了基于悬置元件怠速工况下动刚度的发动机悬置系统MATLAB力学模型.同时由LMS实验模态分析系统测得了发动机实际工况下的运行模态参数,并以模态置信度对其进行了验证.与静刚度模型相比,以悬置元件动刚度建立的模型,其动态参数与运行模态参数更为接近,表明动刚度模型能更好地模拟悬置系统实际工况下的动态特性.     

Impact technique for measuring global dynamic stiffness of engine mounts

Engine mounts are used for engine vibration isolation. The dynamic performance of the mount depends on the orientation. Measurements of the dynamic properties of engine mounts are usually performed in the axial direction because of the problem related to actuator loading direction and set up costs. Impact technique is developed here to measure the dynamic driving point stiffness and driving point shear stiffness of engine mount in a single setup. The compressive and shear frequency-dependent stiffnesses are obtained in the vertical orientation. A transformation matrix is used to calculate the frequency-dependent stiffnesses and loss factors in other orientations. Three different designs of engine mounts are used to verify the accuracy of the transformation model. The correlation coefficient between calculation and measurement results show R²≥ 0.995 along the X- and Y-axes. For the Z-axis, mounts B and C showed R²≥ 0.95 and mount A 0.687 ≤ R²≤ 0.791.     

Application of Sensitivity Analysis to the Development of High Performance Adaptive Hydraulic Engine Mounts

Summary In this paper, the sensitivity analysis is applied to the development of high performance adaptive hydraulic mounts. The analysis allows us to select the most effective design parameters for tuning an adaptive mount to different road and engine conditions. It is shown that in the low frequency road excitation, the upper chamber compliance and inertia of the fluid column in the inertia track are the most influential properties in changing the dynamic stiffness of the hydraulic mount. These properties for the high frequency engine excitations are the upper compliance and the inertia of the fluid column of the decoupler. For tuning the adaptive mount to different road and engine excitation, a global optimization technique is used to find the magnitude of the adjusting parameters to minimize objective functions in low and high frequency excitations. The results indicate significant improvement over conventional hydraulic mounts. It is further shown that when the upper compliance is used as the adjusting parameter, a simple on-off control which is triggered by the engine revolution and vehicle speed is sufficient for tuning the adaptive mount.     

Application of Sensitivity Analysis to the Development of High Performance Adaptive Hydraulic Engine Mounts

Summary In this paper, the sensitivity analysis is applied to the development of high performance adaptive hydraulic mounts. The analysis allows us to select the most effective design parameters for tuning an adaptive mount to different road and engine conditions. It is shown that in the low frequency road excitation, the upper chamber compliance and inertia of the fluid column in the inertia track are the most influential properties in changing the dynamic stiffness of the hydraulic mount. These properties for the high frequency engine excitations are the upper compliance and the inertia of the fluid column of the decoupler. For tuning the adaptive mount to different road and engine excitation, a global optimization technique is used to find the magnitude of the adjusting parameters to minimize objective functions in low and high frequency excitations. The results indicate significant improvement over conventional hydraulic mounts. It is further shown that when the upper compliance is used as the adjusting parameter, a simple on-off control which is triggered by the engine revolution and vehicle speed is sufficient for tuning the adaptive mount.     

Semi-active engine mount design using auxiliary magneto-rheological fluid compliance chamber

Engine mounts are used in the automotive industry to isolate engine and chassis by reducing the noise and vibration imposed from one to the other. This paper describes modelling, simulation and design of a semi-active engine mount that is designed specifically to address the complicated vibration pattern of variable displacement engines (VDE). The ideal isolation for VDE requires the stiffness to be switchable upon cylinder activation/deactivation operating modes. In order to have a modular design, the same hydraulic engine mount components are maintained and a novel auxiliary magneto-rheological (MR) fluid chamber is developed and retrofitted inside the pumping chamber. The new compliance chamber is a controllable pressure regulator, which can effectively alter the dynamic performance of the mount. Switching between different modes happens by turning the electrical current to the MR chamber magnetic coil on and off. A model has been developed for the passive hydraulic mount and then it is extended to include the MR auxiliary chamber as well. A proof-of-concept prototype of the design has been fabricated which validates the mathematical model. The results demonstrate unique capability of the developed semi-active mount to be used for VDE application.     

Using fuzzy logic controller and evolutionary genetic algorithm for automotive active suspension system

This study designs a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) for an active automobile suspension system in which the membership functions and control rules are optimized using a genetic algorithm (GA). The objective of the FLC is to strike an optimal balance between the ride comfort and the vehicle stability. The values of the crossover and mutation parameters in the GA are adapted dynamically during the convergence procedure using a fuzzy control scheme. The convergence state of the GA is determined by using a support vector machine (SVM) method to identify the variation in each of the genes of the best-fit GA chromosome following each iteration loop. The feasibility of the proposed GA-assisted FLC scheme is verified by performing a series of numerical simulations in which the characteristics of the controlled plant are compared with those observed in a passive suspension system and obtained under an optimal linear feedback controller. The results demonstrate that the GA-assisted FLC results in a lower suspension deflection, a reduced sprung mass acceleration and a lower bouncing distance between the tire and the ground.     

动力总成悬置系统解耦设计

阐述了用于动力总成悬置系统解耦设计的转矩轴理论和能量解耦法,给出了这2种理论的计算方法,并利用这2种方法对某国产汽车的动力总成悬置系统进行了解耦设计,结果表明:将悬置布置在转矩轴上,通过合理设计悬置的刚度可以对动力总成悬置进行很好的解耦设计。     

动力总成悬置系统建模与解耦优化

将悬置看作弹簧阻尼元件,优化动力总成悬置系统的刚度矩阵,从而合理布置各阶频率,使模态间振动解耦。通过Maxwell力学模型求解悬置的频变特性和幅变特性,并建立含该力学模型的整车刚柔耦合动力学模型。计算出的整车系统振动响应表明,解耦优化后的悬置系统明显改善了悬置系统的隔振效果。     

Engine mount optimisation for vibration isolation in motorcycles

This paper presents a comprehensive model to capture the in-plane dynamics of a motorcycle system to evaluate the quality of its vibration isolation, and the design of an engine mount system. The model consists of two main structural components, the frame and the swing-arm, as well as the power-train assembly, engine mounts connecting the power-train to the frame, and the front-end assembly. The model accounts for frame and swing-arm flexibility using reduced order finite-element models. The power-train assembly is modelled as a rigid body connected to the frame through the engine mounts and to the swing-arm through a shaft assembly. The engine mounts are modelled as tri-axial spring-damper systems, and the front-end assembly is modelled as a lumped mass. The complete vehicle model is used to solve the engine mount optimisation problem, so as to minimise the total force transmitted to the frame while meeting packaging and other constraints. The mount system parameters – stiffness, position and orientation vectors – are used as design variables for the optimisation problem. The imposed loads include forces and moments due to engine imbalance as well as loads transmitted due to high amplitude, low frequency bump loads, through the tyre patch. Since packaging constraints play a significant role in a motorcycle layout, it is, therefore, important to determine the displacement envelope of the power-train under extreme loading conditions to ensure clearance with other components around the power-train. A motorcycle mount system should ideally be able to isolate the frame under steady-state loading conditions and at the same time limit the maximum excursion of the power-train under transient loading conditions.     

发动机液压悬置低频模型参数识别方法的研究

根据悬置低频振动模型,提出了基于DE算法的发动机液压悬置模型识别方法,由简单的低频正弦激振试验直接估计模型的关键参数值,完成模型的参数识别。基于上述理论和试验相结合的模型识别方法可以代替组件试验,识别结果可直接用于复杂结构悬置元件的动特性预测和整车NVH性能研究。     

Development of a bushing with an active compliance chamber for variable displacement engines

In this paper a novel active compliance chamber is designed, which can be used to control the dynamic stiffness of a common hydraulic bushing. This chamber offers a simple and cost-effective solution for the variable displacement engine (VDE) isolation problem. A VDE system requires a soft bushing for the half cylinder mode and a regular one for normal engine operations. A magnetic actuator is used to produce mechanical pulses. The linearisation technique is used for simplifying the nonlinear equation of motion. Different current sources are used to feed the magnetic actuator. The pressure inside the chamber follows linearly the current input signal. The phase shift in various current inputs is used in the form of the transfer functions to create the required pressure response pattern in the frequency domain. Since the dynamic stiffness of a conventional hydraulic bushing is a direct function of the pressure inside it, the active compliance chamber can be used to alter the pressure and consequently produce the required dynamic stiffness response. As a result, it can address the engine vibration problem for VDE situation.     

Inverse neuro-fuzzy MR damper model and its application in vibration control of vehicle suspension system

In this paper, a magneto-rheological (MR) damper-based semi-active controller for vehicle suspension is developed. This system consists of a linear quadratic Gauss (LQG) controller as the system controller and an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) inverse model as the damper controller. First, a modified Bouc–Wen model is proposed to characterise the forward dynamic characteristics of the MR damper based on the experimental data. Then, an inverse MR damper model is built using ANFIS technique to determine the input current so as to gain the desired damping force. Finally, a quarter-car suspension model together with the MR damper is set up, and a semi-active controller composed of the LQG controller and the ANFIS inverse model is designed. Simulation results demonstrate that the desired force can be accurately tracked using the ANFIS technique and the semi-active controller can achieve competitive performance as that of active suspension.     

基于改进局域波法的柴油机振动信号分析

提出了一种基于奇异值分解降噪的柴油机振动信号局域波分解方法,首先对原始振动信号进行相空间重构和奇异值分解,然后根据分解的奇异值降噪,接着利用经验模式分解法提取降噪后振动信号的基本模式分量,最后作出时频曲线和边界谱曲线。对滤波前和滤波后的柴油机振动信号进行了局域波分析,分析结果表明,奇异值分解能够有效地提高信噪比,突出原始振动信号的特征,使得降噪后的振动信号分解出的基本模式分量和时频曲线以及边界谱曲线具有更明确的物理意义,有利于对柴油机进行精确诊断。     

Comparing the efficiency of different computation intelligence techniques in predicting accident frequency

Until now, considerable efforts have been made to determine which modelling technique performs the best for predicting accident frequency based on crash data. In this regard, the presented study seeks to compare four types of Computational Intelligence (CI) modelling techniques in accident frequency prediction in urban segments, including Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), Hybrid ANFIS-Genetic Algorithm (H-ANFIS-GA), and Hybrid ANFIS-Particle Swarm Optimization (H-ANFIS-PSO). Accordingly, different variables relating to traffic condition and road specifications were employed as independent variables, using the dataset consisting of 1370 crash occurred in Mashhad (Iran), in 2014. According to the results, H-ANFIS-GA exhibited the best performance in forecasting accident frequency. In contrast, PSO did not improve ANFIS performance, and it caused a negative influence on its prediction accuracy. Although the ANFIS model performed better than the developed ANN, it came in the third most accurate models. Additionally, the effect of each independent variable on predicted crash frequency was evaluated using sensitivity analysis.     

Heavy-duty vehicle modelling and longitudinal control

This paper addresses modelling, longitudinal control design and implementation for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs). The challenging problems here are: (a) an HDV is mass dominant with low power to mass ratio; (b) They possess large actuator delay and actuator saturation. To reduce model mismatch, it is necessary to obtain a nonlinear model which is as simple as the control design method can handle and as complicated as necessary to capture the intrinsic vehicle dynamics. A second order nonlinear vehicle body dynamical model is adopted, which is feedback linearizable. Beside the vehicle dynamics, other main dynamical components along the power-train and drive-train are also modelled, which include turbocharged diesel engine, torque converter, transmission, transmission retarder, pneumatic brake and tyre. The braking system is the most challenging part for control design, which contains three parts: Jake (engine compression) brake, air brake and transmission retarder. The modelling for each is provided. The use of engine braking effect is new complementary to Jake (compression) brake for longitudinal control, which is united with Jake brake in modelling. The control structure can be divided into upper level and lower level. Upper level control uses sliding mode control to generate the desired torque from the desired vehicle acceleration. Lower level control is divided into two branches: (a) engine control: from positive desired torque to desired fuel rate (engine control) using a static engine mapping which basically captures the intrinsic dynamic performance of the turbo-charged diesel engine; (b) brake control: from desired negative torque to generate Jake brake cylinder number to be activated and ON/OFF time periods, applied pneumatic brake pressure and applied voltage of transmission retarder. Test results are also reported.     

Development of an Active Control Engine Mount System

In an attempt to reduce idling vibration and booming noise in automobile engines, the authors have developed an engine mounting system we call the ACM(Active Control engine Mount) system. Comprising a pair of electromagnetic actuators and hydraulic mounts, the system incorporates an adaptive control strategy based on the synchronized filtered-X LMS (SFX) algorithm. The crank angle pulse signal is detected as the synchronization signal and the force transmitted to the car body through the engine mounts is detected as a residual signal. Application of the ACM system to a vehicle with a transversally mounted four-cylinder engine resulted in significantly reduced idling vibration and booming noise.     

Development of an Active Control Engine Mount System

In an attempt to reduce idling vibration and booming noise in automobile engines, the authors have developed an engine mounting system we call the ACM(Active Control engine Mount) system. Comprising a pair of electromagnetic actuators and hydraulic mounts, the system incorporates an adaptive control strategy based on the synchronized filtered-X LMS (SFX) algorithm. The crank angle pulse signal is detected as the synchronization signal and the force transmitted to the car body through the engine mounts is detected as a residual signal. Application of the ACM system to a vehicle with a transversally mounted four-cylinder engine resulted in significantly reduced idling vibration and booming noise.     

Heavy-duty vehicle modelling and longitudinal control

This paper addresses modelling, longitudinal control design and implementation for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs). The challenging problems here are: (a) an HDV is mass dominant with low power to mass ratio; (b) They possess large actuator delay and actuator saturation. To reduce model mismatch, it is necessary to obtain a nonlinear model which is as simple as the control design method can handle and as complicated as necessary to capture the intrinsic vehicle dynamics. A second order nonlinear vehicle body dynamical model is adopted, which is feedback linearizable. Beside the vehicle dynamics, other main dynamical components along the power-train and drive-train are also modelled, which include turbocharged diesel engine, torque converter, transmission, transmission retarder, pneumatic brake and tyre. The braking system is the most challenging part for control design, which contains three parts: Jake (engine compression) brake, air brake and transmission retarder. The modelling for each is provided. The use of engine braking effect is new complementary to Jake (compression) brake for longitudinal control, which is united with Jake brake in modelling. The control structure can be divided into upper level and lower level. Upper level control uses sliding mode control to generate the desired torque from the desired vehicle acceleration. Lower level control is divided into two branches: (a) engine control: from positive desired torque to desired fuel rate (engine control) using a static engine mapping which basically captures the intrinsic dynamic performance of the turbo-charged diesel engine; (b) brake control: from desired negative torque to generate Jake brake cylinder number to be activated and ON/OFF time periods, applied pneumatic brake pressure and applied voltage of transmission retarder. Test results are also reported.