Effect of Connecting the Front and Rear Air Suspensions of a Vehicle on the Transmissibility of Road Undulation Inputs

SUMMARY

Airsprings have been used for vehicle suspensions over the last 40 years. They are mostly used as independent suspensions. Analysis of air springs available in literature is mostly limited to a single-degree-of-freedom system or a two-degrees-of-freedom system only in the translation mode. This paper deals with a model of a vehicle where the front and the rear springs are connected by a capillary tube. A two-degrees-of-freedom model having motion in bounce and pitch mode is presented. Equations of mass flow are linearized on the assumption of small variations in volume and pressure. Expressions for the transmissibility and the phase angle in the bounce and the pitch mode are derived. Road inputs to the front and the rear axles are assumed to be identical except for a phase difference between them. The effect of the capillary flow coefficient and that of the phase angle between the front and the rear axle excitation are studied. It is shown that an optimum value of the capillary flow coefficient exists which minimizes the transmissibility of motion in both modes over the entire frequency range. It is also observed that a phase angle of 180 degrees presents ideal transmissibility characteristics. Thus, a promising application of air springs for a vehicle suspension is presented.     

6自由度半车悬架解耦及其分层振动控制的研究

通过对6自由度半车悬架簧载质量的受力分析,推导出其前后1/4悬架间的定量耦合关系,并以其为基础构建分层振动控制算法.中央控制层以悬架质心处的垂向加速度和俯仰角加速度为控制目标,前后两个1/4悬架构成的两个底层分别采用H_∞和LQR控制策略,并接受中央控制层的协调指令.利用MATLAB的仿真表明,与传统控制相比,分层控制由于前后两个1/4悬架的控制量可以并行解算,计算时间大幅缩短,因而可针对路面激励实施详尽的控制,达到了改善车辆行驶平顺性的目的.     

三轴汽车前后轮角输入时的响应特性

本文详细推导了三轴汽车线性二自由度模型的运动微分方程，分析了汽车对前后轮角输入时的移居记响应特性。从汽车动力学的角度讨论了前后轮转应具备的比例关系。该方法同样适用于其它多轴汽车的建模分析。     

双轴汽车模型下某车型的振动分析

将双轴汽车多自由度模型简化成四自由度的平面模型,忽略了车轮部分质量及刚度的影响。把质量m的车身等效的分解为前后轴以及质心C上的三个集中质量m2f、m2r及m2c,这三个质量由无质量的刚性杆进行连接。分析在该模型下振动输入对车身垂直和俯仰运动的影响,重点研究在有阻尼情况下双轴汽车模型的偏频和振型分析。     

基于ADAMS的空气悬架客车平顺性仿真与试验

以多体系统动力学理论为基础,应用机械系统仿真分析软件ADAMS,创建空气悬架客车前悬架、后悬架的多体系统动力学模型,包括转向系、发动机、车身、前后轮胎等在内的整车虚拟样机模型。并通过编制路面谱文件对虚拟模型进行平顺性仿真和悬挂系统固有频率仿真试验,结果显示该车的平顺性能比较理想。将仿真结果与样车道路试验结果进行对比,发现二者比较吻合,从而验证了所创建的虚拟样机模型的可靠性。研究结果表明虚拟试验可以有效地分析汽车的平顺性。     

Feedback brake distribution control for minimum pitch

The distribution of brake forces between front and rear axles of a vehicle is typically specified such that the same level of brake force coefficient is imposed at both front and rear wheels. This condition is known as ‘ideal’ distribution and it is required to deliver the maximum vehicle deceleration and minimum braking distance. For subcritical braking conditions, the deceleration demand may be delivered by different distributions between front and rear braking forces. In this research we show how to obtain the optimal distribution which minimises the pitch angle of a vehicle and hence enhances driver subjective feel during braking. A vehicle model including suspension geometry features is adopted. The problem of the minimum pitch brake distribution for a varying deceleration level demand is solved by means of a model predictive control (MPC) technique. To address the problem of the undesirable pitch rebound caused by a full-stop of the vehicle, a second controller is designed and implemented independently from the braking distribution in use. An extended Kalman filter is designed for state estimation and implemented in a high fidelity environment together with the MPC strategy. The proposed solution is compared with the reference ‘ideal’ distribution as well as another previous feed-forward solution.     

乘用车传动系与底盘的技术特征

通过对全球乘用车传动及底盘结构进行统计分析,给出了乘用车驱动方式与车长、手动变速器与车长、自动变速器与车长、前单横臂后扭力梁组合与车长、前单横臂后多连杆组合与车长、前双横臂后多连杆组合与车长、装空气弹簧车辆与车长关系的统计数据。论述了乘用车不同车身形式所采用的弹性元件与稳定杆类别,以及乘用车所采用的不同制动方式。     

Optimal Preview Control of Rear Suspension Using Nonlinear Neural Networks

The performance of neural networks to be used for identification and optimal control of nonlinear vehicle suspensions is analyzed. It is shown that neuro-vehicle models can be efficiently trained to identify the dynamical characteristics of actual vehicle suspensions. After trained, this neuro-vehicle is used to train both front and rear suspension neuro-controllers under a nonlinear rear preview control scheme. To do that, a neuro-observer is trained to identify the inverse dynamics of the front suspension so that front road disturbances can be identified and used to improve the response of the rear suspension. The performance of the vehicle with neuro-control and with LQ control are compared.     

汽车非线性半主动悬架的模糊神经网络控制

考虑磁流变减振器阻尼力和悬架弹性元件非线性特性，建立车辆6自由度的半主动悬架非线性动力学模型。提出了一种基于模糊神经网络系统结构的模型参考自适应控制方法来研究汽车半主动悬架的非线性控制问题，并考虑半车模型前后悬架的输入时滞，对其进行了仿真研究。研究结果表明：运用模糊神经网络非线性控制方法能够使人体和车身垂直加速度、俯仰角加速度都得到很大的衰减，证实这种模糊神经网络控制方法可大大减少路面对车身的振动冲击，提高汽车行驶平顺性。     

Optimal Preview Control of Rear Suspension Using Nonlinear Neural Networks

SUMMARY

The performance of neural networks to be used for identification and optimal control of nonlinear vehicle suspensions is analyzed. It is shown that neuro-vehicle models can be efficiently trained to identify the dynamical characteristics of actual vehicle suspensions. After trained, this neuro-vehicle is used to train both front and rear suspension neuro-controllers under a nonlinear rear preview control scheme. To do that, a neuro-observer is trained to identify the inverse dynamics of the front suspension so that front road disturbances can be identified and used to improve the response of the rear suspension. The performance of the vehicle with neuro-control and with LQ control are compared.     

汽车磁流变非线性悬架模糊控制

建立了整车悬架系统的三维模型,根据试验数据得出了前后悬架弹簧的非线性特性曲线。前后悬架减振器均采用磁流变减振器,采用Bouc-Wen参数化模型为其阻尼力模型。采用模糊控制算法为整车半主动控制算法,采用ADAMS和Matlab联合对整车平顺性进行仿真。结果表明,采用模糊控制算法控制磁流变非线性悬架可提高整车的平顺性。     

Speed ratio control of a parallel layout double cavity half-toroidal CVT for four-wheel drive

A double cavity half-toroidal CVT has two variators, which gives a hint of a new four-wheel drive without a center differential gear unit by applying each of them to drive front and rear drive shafts independently. Torque re-circulation at cornering or different tire radii between front and rear tire is avoided by compensating the speed ratio of variator. The controller adjusts the attitude angle of power roller of the front variator against the rear by measuring the steering angle at cornering. This paper describes the speed ratio control system of the 4WD-CVT with speed ratio range of 1 : 8.7 and test results of vehicle motion mounted on a 3.2L RV.     

Heavy vehicle pitch dynamics and suspension tuning. Part I: unconnected suspension

The influence of suspension tuning of passenger cars on bounce and pitch ride performance has been explored in a number of studies, while only minimal efforts have been made for establishing similar rules for heavy vehicles. This study aims to explore pitch dynamics and suspension tunings of a two-axle heavy vehicle with unconnected suspension, which could also provide valuable information for heavy vehicles with coupled suspensions. Based on a generalised pitch-plane model of a two-axle heavy vehicle integrating either unconnected or coupled suspension, three dimensionless measures of suspension properties are defined and analysed—namely the pitch margin (PM), pitch stiffness ratio (PSR), and coupled pitch stiffness ratio (CPSR)—for different unconnected suspension tunings and load conditions. Dynamic responses of the vehicle with three different load conditions and five different tunings of the unconnected suspension are obtained under excitations arising from three different random road roughness conditions and a wide range of driving speeds, and braking manoeuvres. The responses are evaluated in terms of performance measures related to vertical and pitch ride, dynamic tyre load, suspension travel, and pitch-attitude control characteristics of the vehicle. Fundamental relationships between the vehicle responses and the proposed suspension measures (PM, PSR, and CPSR) are established, based on which some basic suspension tuning rules for heavy vehicles with unconnected suspensions are also proposed.     

四轮转向汽车虚拟样机闭环控制操纵动力学仿真

运用ADAMS软件建立了新型四轮转向(4WS)汽车整车虚拟样机模型,利用该模型对比了基于横摆角速度多状态最优控制的4WS汽车同前轮转向(FWS)汽车及其它不同控制算法的阴轮转向汽车(后轮比例于前轮转角算法及后轮转角比例于横摆角速度算法)的操纵稳定性。仿真结果表明,基于横摆角速度多状态最优控制的4WS汽车,其各项评价指标优于FWS汽车以及采用另外两种控制方法的4WS汽车。     

Nonlinear Backstepping Active Suspension Design Applied to a Half-Car Model

A fresh nonlinear backstepping design scheme, which is developed for the control of half-car active suspension systems to improve the inherent tradeoff between ride quality and suspension travel, is proposed in this paper. Since ride quality is dependent on a combination of vertical and angular displacements of a vehicle body, the design of active suspensions must have the potential to minimize heave and pitch movements in order to guarantee the ride comfort of passengers. The other important factor to be emphasized in the design of active suspensions is the suspension travel which means the space variation between the car body and the tires. In order to avoid damaging vehicle components and generating more passenger discomfort, the active suspension controllers must be capable of preventing the suspension from hitting its travel limits. Our design strategy, with two intentionally additional nonlinear filters, shows the potential to achieve these conflicting control objectives. The novelty of our active suspension design is in the use of two particular nonlinear filters at both the front and rear wheels. The effective bandwidths of these two nonlinear filters depend on the magnitudes of the front and rear suspension travels, individually. When suspension travel is small, the proposed controllers soften the suspension for enhancing passenger comfort. However, our control design shifts its attention to rattlespace utilization by stiffening the suspension when suspension travel approaches its limits. As a result, the improvement of tradeoff between ride quality and suspension travel can be guaranteed and is then demonstrated through comparative simulations.     

Study on a four wheel steering vehicle driven at an objective side slip angle

At the center of gravity of a vehicle, the control function for rear steering can cancel the side slip angle which varies as the running speed is changed. An instantaneous center of vehicle motion is controlled, employing rear steering. Even though the running speed of the vehicle is changed, the side slip angle remains as it was, if a relation of the position of the instantaneous center of vehicle motion to the vehicle does not change. Furthermore, taking account of an instantaeous center of yaw motion will enable us to select how much the side slip angle should be.     

汽车前后悬架固有频率的匹配研究

本文从减小汽车纵向角振动出发，分析了前后悬架固有频率的匹配问题，给出了前后悬架固有频率比值与汽车质心位置，簧载质量分配系数ε的关系，并通过实例进行了４自由度模型的角振动分析。结果表明：匹配后的汽车俯仰加速度均方根值可减小约３０％。     

主动横向稳定器降低商用车侧倾的研究

将新式主动横向稳定器安装在中型货画的前轴和后轴，通过液压缸与车架连接。本文研究了该稳定器对降低车身侧倾和提高舒适性的效果。仿真分析和实车试验表明，采用前轮转角前馈控制方法，汽车转向时，稳定器产生反侧倾力矩，大幅度地降低车身侧倾。     

Asymptotic sideslip angle and yaw rate decoupling control in four-wheel steering vehicles

This paper shows that, for a four-wheel steering vehicle, a proportional-integral (PI) active front steering control and a PI active rear steering control from the yaw rate error together with an additive feedforward reference signal for the vehicle sideslip angle can asymptotically decouple the lateral velocity and the yaw rate dynamics; that is the control can set arbitrary steady state values for lateral speed and yaw rate at any longitudinal speed. Moreover, the PI controls can suppress oscillatory behaviours by assigning real stable eigenvalues to a widely used linearised model of the vehicle steering dynamics for any value of longitudinal speed in understeering vehicles. In particular, the four PI control parameters are explicitly expressed in terms of the three real eigenvalues to be assigned. No lateral acceleration and no lateral speed measurements are required. The controlled system maintains the well-known advantages of both front and rear active steering controls: higher controllability, enlarged bandwidth for the yaw rate dynamics, suppressed resonances, new stable cornering manoeuvres and improved manoeuvrability. In particular, zero lateral speed may be asymptotically achieved while controlling the yaw rate: in this case comfort is improved since the phase lag between lateral acceleration and yaw rate is reduced. Also zero yaw rate can be asymptotically achieved: in this case additional stable manoeuvres are obtained in obstacle avoidance. Several simulations, including step references and moose tests, are carried out on a standard small SUV CarSim model to explore the robustness with respect to unmodelled effects such as combined lateral and longitudinal tyre forces, pitch, roll and driver dynamics. The simulations confirm the decoupling between the lateral velocity and the yaw rate and show the advantages obtained by the proposed control: reduced lateral speed or reduced yaw rate, suppressed oscillations and new stable manoeuvres.     

非对称钢板弹簧作用原理

非对称钢板弹簧的主要作用是提高汽车转向稳定性，改变汽车前后轴质量分布，调整汽车轴距，扩展发动机机油底壳空间和减少钢板弹簧纵向弯曲变形。在维修保养非对称钢板弹簧时，应特别注意弹簧片间的石墨润滑剂和辨清非对称位置。