Development and Simulation of a Novel Roll Control System for the Interconnected Hydragas® Suspension

The design of passive suspension systems using conventional springs and dampers is limited by the need to compromise between vehicle ride and handling functions. The Interconnected Hydragas Suspension fitted to the current Rover 100 series partially allays this compromise by reducing the vehicle pitch stiffness witfiout affecting the bounce and roll stiffnesses. However, the vehicle body is still subject to roll during cornering manoeuvres. This paper outlines the development and simulation of a sealed low bandwidth active roll control suspension based on the existing Interconnected Hydragas System. Following a brief explanation of the Hydragas suspension operating principle die paper outlines the design of a fluid displacer or 'shuttle'. This shuttle enables control over body roll during manoeuvres by displacing fluid from one side of the car to the other. Care is taken to ensure low power consumption whilst the sealed nature of the fluid based suspension units guarantee reliable operation without leakage. Using computer simulation, the system performance is predicted and compared with experimental measurements. It is shown that roll during manoeuvres can be reduced or eliminated using a minimum of hydraulic components with only moderate power consumption and cost.     

An Original Feedback Control with a Reversible Electromechanical Actuator Used as an Active Isolation System for a Seat Suspension. Part II: Experimental Study

From the theoretical study presented in [1], we investigate the experimental feasibility of the active seat suspension to improve ride comfort. The prototype of the reversible electromechanical actuator used in the active seat suspension is presented. First, the kinematic guide with a vertical auto-levelling system is described. Second, the electromechamical actuator and the power drive transmission are presented. It is noticed that the prototype design is achieved with a systemic approach taking into account the industrial constraints. Then, the laboratory experimental setup is described. Several tests are performed on the prototype for model validation and performance purposes. Correct force feedback control in the actuator is verified. The real performances of the active seat suspension on a prototype is investigated for different pertubation inputs. Experimental results clearly show the efficiency of the active seat suspension to improve passenger comfort and demonstrate its feasability.     

An Original Feedback Control with a Reversible Electromechanical Actuator Used as an Active Isolation System for a Seat Suspension. Part II: Experimental Study

From the theoretical study presented in [1], we investigate the experimental feasibility of the active seat suspension to improve ride comfort. The prototype of the reversible electromechanical actuator used in the active seat suspension is presented. First, the kinematic guide with a vertical auto-levelling system is described. Second, the electromechamical actuator and the power drive transmission are presented. It is noticed that the prototype design is achieved with a systemic approach taking into account the industrial constraints. Then, the laboratory experimental setup is described. Several tests are performed on the prototype for model validation and performance purposes. Correct force feedback control in the actuator is verified. The real performances of the active seat suspension on a prototype is investigated for different pertubation inputs. Experimental results clearly show the efficiency of the active seat suspension to improve passenger comfort and demonstrate its feasability.     

Rollover mitigation for a heavy commercial vehicle

A heavy commercial vehicle has a high probability of rollover because it is usually loaded heavily and thus has a high center of gravity. An anti-roll bar is efficient for rollover mitigation, but it can cause poor ride comfort when the roll stiffness is excessively high. Therefore, active roll control (ARC) systems have been developed to optimally control the roll state of a vehicle while maintaining ride comfort. Previously developed ARC systems have some disadvantages, such as cost, complexity, power consumption, and weight. In this study, an ARC-based rear air suspension for a heavy commercial vehicle, which does not require additional power for control, was designed and manufactured. The rollover index-based vehicle rollover mitigation control scheme was used for the ARC system. Multi-body dynamic models of the suspension subsystem and the full vehicle were used to design the rear air suspension and the ARC system. The reference rollover index was tuned through lab tests. Field tests, such as steady state cornering tests and step steer tests, demonstrated that the roll response characteristics in the steady state and transient state were improved.     

汽车转向与悬架系统的集成控制研究

在建立了汽车转向与悬架系统的综合模型的基础上,运用一种具有扩展的调节器结构LQG控制方法,设计了 主动悬架控制器,实现对车身横摆角速度、车身垂直加速度、车身侧倾角和俯仰角的集成控制,从而显著提高汽车的 平顺性、操纵稳定性和安全性。     

Modelling Combined Ride and Handling Manœuvres for a Vehicle with Slow-Active Suspension

SUMMARY

The computer modelling of vehicle ride and handling has been widely reported, but often only one or other of these functions is considered. This is especially true in the design of active suspension controllers, where the effects that improvements in the performance of one aspect have on the other are often not presented. This paper initially describes a combined ride and handling model for a large executive saloon fitted with a slow-active suspension. Separately derived ride and roll control strategies are combined and the effects on both ride and handling considered for straight running and various handling man?uvres on rough roads. The results are compared to the original passively suspended vehicle and the effect of running each strategy separately.     

New model and simulation of Macpherson suspension system for ride control applications

The main purpose of this paper is to propose a new nonlinear model of the Macpherson strut suspension system for ride control applications. The model includes the vertical acceleration of the sprung mass and incorporates the suspension linkage kinematics. This two-degree-of-freedom (DOF) model not only provides a more accurate representation of the Macpherson suspension system for control applications in order to improve the ride quality, but also facilitates evaluation of the suspension kinematic parameters, such as camber, caster and king-pin angles as well as track alterations on the ride vibrations. The performances of the nonlinear and linearised models are investigated and compared with those of the conventional model. Besides, it is shown that the semi-active force improves the ride quality better than active force, while the opposite is true in terms of improving the performance of the kinematic parameters. The results of variations of the kinematic parameters based on the linear model subject to road disturbances are compared with those of a virtual prototype of Macpherson suspension in ADAMS software. The analytical results in both cases are shown to agree with each other.     

Active Roll Control for Passenger Cars

The development of a mathematical model of a limited bandwidth hydro-pneumatic suspension that is incorporated into a vehicle handling model is described. The combined model is used to evaluate a suitable control strategy for eliminating body roll during a cornering manoeuvre. The philosophy behind the roll control strategy has been to use feedback measurements of the body motions which do not compromise the ride control. A study of the influence of the position of the body motion feedback transducer on the effectiveness of the system to reduce the body roll is presented. Non-linear modelling of the suspension components for a 0.8g cornering manoeuvre has revealed performance limitations. Conclusions are drawn as to the effectiveness of the control scheme.     

Development of Preview Active Suspension Control System and Performance Limit Analysis by Trajectory Optimization

The main role of the suspension system is to achieve ride comfort by reducing vibrations generated by the road roughness. The active damper is getting much attention due to its reduced cost and ability to enhance ride comfort especially when the road ahead is measurable by an environment sensor. In this study a preview active suspension control system was developed in order to improve ride comfort when the vehicle is passing over a speed bump. The control system consists of a feedback controller based on the skyhook logic and a feedforward controller for canceling out the road disturbance. The performance limit for the active suspension control system was computed via trajectory optimization to provide a measure against which to compare and validate the performance of the developed controller. The simulation results indicated that the controller of this study could enhance ride comfort significantly over the active suspension control system employing only the skyhook feedback control logic. Also the developed controller, by displaying similar control pattern as the trajectory optimization during significant time portions, proved that its control policy is legitimate.     

基于统一模型的转向-悬架系统最优综合控制方法

通过对车辆底盘系统中的转向和悬架系统建立统一的数学模型,利用M atlab/S imu link仿真,结合最优控制理论,分别对被动悬架兼前轮转向系统与主动悬架兼四轮转向综合控制系统进行了对比研究。理论分析与仿真试验表明,综合控制系统下车辆的操纵稳定性和平顺性都得到了很大的提高。     

Active Roll Control for Passenger Cars

SUMMARY

The development of a mathematical model of a limited bandwidth hydro-pneumatic suspension that is incorporated into a vehicle handling model is described. The combined model is used to evaluate a suitable control strategy for eliminating body roll during a cornering manoeuvre. The philosophy behind the roll control strategy has been to use feedback measurements of the body motions which do not compromise the ride control. A study of the influence of the position of the body motion feedback transducer on the effectiveness of the system to reduce the body roll is presented. Non-linear modelling of the suspension components for a 0.8g cornering manoeuvre has revealed performance limitations. Conclusions are drawn as to the effectiveness of the control scheme.     

Ride dynamic evaluations and design optimisation of a torsio-elastic off-road vehicle suspension

The ride dynamic characteristics of a novel torsio-elastic suspension for off-road vehicle applications are investigated through field measurements and simulations. A prototype suspension was realised and integrated within the rear axle of a forestry skidder for field evaluations. Field measurements were performed on forestry terrains at a constant forward speed of 5 km/h under the loaded and unloaded conditions, and the ride responses were acquired in terms of accelerations along the vertical, lateral, roll, longitudinal and pitch axes. The measurements were also performed on a conventional skidder to investigate the relative ride performance potentials of the proposed suspension. The results revealed that the proposed suspension could yield significant reductions in magnitudes of transmitted vibration to the operator seat. Compared with the unsuspended vehicle, the prototype suspended vehicle resulted in nearly 35%, 43% and 57% reductions in the frequency-weighted rms accelerations along the x-, y- and z-axis, respectively. A 13-degree-of-freedom ride dynamic model of the vehicle with rear-axle torsio-elastic suspension was subsequently derived and validated in order to study the sensitivity of the ride responses to suspension parameters. Optimal suspension parameters were identified using the Pareto technique based on the genetic algorithm to obtain minimal un-weighted and frequency-weighted rms acceleration responses. The optimal solutions resulted in further reduction in the pitch acceleration in the order of 20%, while the reductions in roll and vertical accelerations ranged from 3.5 to 6%.     

Roll and pitch independently tuned interconnected suspension: modelling and dynamic analysis

In this paper, a roll and pitch independently tuned hydraulically interconnected passive suspension is presented. Due to decoupling of vibration modes and the improved lateral and longitudinal stability, the stiffness of individual suspension spring can be reduced for improving ride comfort and road grip. A generalised 14 degree-of-freedom nonlinear vehicle model with anti-roll bars is established to investigate the vehicle ride and handling dynamic responses. The nonlinear fluidic model of the hydraulically interconnected suspension is developed and integrated with the full vehicle model to investigate the anti-roll and anti-pitch characteristics. Time domain analysis of the vehicle model with the proposed suspension is conducted under different road excitations and steering/braking manoeuvres. The dynamic responses are compared with conventional suspensions to demonstrate the potential of enhanced ride and handling performance. The results illustrate the model-decoupling property of the hydraulically interconnected system. The anti-roll and anti-pitch performance could be tuned independently by the interconnected systems. With the improved anti-roll and anti-pitch characteristics, the bounce stiffness and ride damping can be optimised for better ride comfort and tyre grip.     

Advanced Control Methods of Active Suspension

This paper describes new control methods for the active suspension. For improving ride comfort further, preview control rule is proposed. For improving stability further, roll stiffness distribution control rule is examined by the test vehicle. Simulations and vehicle driving tests are conducted to confirm the effect of these new control methods. The results of simulations and vehicle driving tests show in our research phase that preview control can achieve a substantial improvement in ride comfort and application of roll stiffness distribution control provides a large improvement in stability     

DSP-based self-organising fuzzy controller for active suspension systems

This study proposed a self-organising fuzzy controller (SOFC) for controlling an active suspension system to evaluate its control performance. During the control process, the SOFC continually updated the learning strategy in the form of fuzzy rules. The fuzzy rule table of this SOFC could be initially set to zero. This not only overcame the difficulty in finding appropriate membership functions and control rules for designing a fuzzy controller, but also solved the database problem where the fuzzy rules of a fuzzy controller, once determined, remained fixed and could not suitably regulate them in real time to optimise the dynamic response of the system required to gain the desired control performance. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed SOFC for active suspension systems, a quarter-car hydraulic-servo suspension system was designed and constructed to evaluate the feasibility of active suspension control. Additionally, to conform to real-time application requirements in the vehicular industry, the SOFC was implemented with a digital signal processor to control the hydraulic-servo suspension system so that the control performance could be determined. The SOFC has shown a better control performance in suppressing the vibration amplitude of the vehicle body for enhancing the structural safety of the vehicle and increasing the life of the suspension system. It also effectively suppressed the amplitude of the vehicle body acceleration and reduced the tire deflection for improving the ride and the handling quality of a vehicle better than a passive control, as verified in experimental results.     

Level and attitude control of the active suspension system with integral and derivative action

A 7-DOF full-car model with optimal active control suspension is utilized to evaluate the vehicle dynamic performances which are achieved through proposed controllers. The optimal controller, which includes the integral action for the suspension deflection, considerably improves the attitude control of a vehicle because the rolling and pitching motion in cornering and braking maneuvers are reduced, respectively. In the viewpoint of level control, the integral control acting on the suspension deflection results in the zero steady-state deflection in response to static body forces and ramp road input. The dynamic characteristics of the suspension control system are evaluated in terms of time domain and frequency domain. The simulations in the time domain demonstrate the advantages of the active suspension system obtained by penalizing the integral and derivative of suspension deflections and the derivative of roll and pitch angles in the performance index. The frequency characteristic curves obtained by simulations regarding integral action or derivative action show the increase of both ride comfort and road-holding performances by maximizing the use of suspension deflections. The potential of derivative control is shown by the performances of the car traveling over a bump and braking.     

Level and attitude control of the active suspension system with integral and derivative action

A 7-DOF full-car model with optimal active control suspension is utilized to evaluate the vehicle dynamic performances which are achieved through proposed controllers. The optimal controller, which includes the integral action for the suspension deflection, considerably improves the attitude control of a vehicle because the rolling and pitching motion in cornering and braking maneuvers are reduced, respectively. In the viewpoint of level control, the integral control acting on the suspension deflection results in the zero steady-state deflection in response to static body forces and ramp road input. The dynamic characteristics of the suspension control system are evaluated in terms of time domain and frequency domain. The simulations in the time domain demonstrate the advantages of the active suspension system obtained by penalizing the integral and derivative of suspension deflections and the derivative of roll and pitch angles in the performance index. The frequency characteristic curves obtained by simulations regarding integral action or derivative action show the increase of both ride comfort and road-holding performances by maximizing the use of suspension deflections. The potential of derivative control is shown by the performances of the car traveling over a bump and braking.     

汽车主动悬架系统状态反馈控制技术研究

车辆的悬架系统对于其舒适性和操纵稳定性都起着关键作用。随着计算机技术和液压伺服元件的发展，出现了主动和半主动悬架系统，在其控制策略具有二次型性能指标的最优控制方法比较成熟。通过建立系统的数学模型和仿真计算，对全状态反馈和被动悬架进行比分析，表明主动悬架采用和有限状态的反馈较全状态反馈有明显优势，是一种比较实用的状态反馈控制方法。     

Improving crosswind stability of fast rail vehicles using active secondary suspension

Rail vehicles are today increasingly equipped with active suspension systems for ride comfort purposes. In this paper, it is studied whether these often powerful systems also can be used to improve crosswind stability. A fast rail vehicle equipped with active secondary suspension for ride comfort purposes is exposed to crosswind loads during curve negotiation. For high crosswind loads, the active secondary suspension is used to reduce the impact of crosswind on the vehicle. The control input is taken from the primary vertical suspension deflection. Three different control cases are studied and compared with the only comfort-oriented active secondary suspension and a passive secondary suspension. The application of active secondary suspension resulted in significantly improved crosswind stability.     

汽车主动悬架系统的自适应模糊控制方法

本文提出了一种汽车主动悬架系统的自适应模糊控制方法，该模糊控制方法可以有线自适应调整模糊控制的有关参数。1/4车辆模型作为系统仿真对象，模糊逻辑控制器可以显著发减小车辆的振动及干扰，提高车辆受路面激励时车辆的舒适性。仿真结果清楚地表明该模糊控制方法的有效性。另外，当主动悬架系统模型参数发生变化时该模糊控制器表现出良好的鲁棒性。