• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.261-277
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• 2009

A fuzzy-sliding mode controller is presented to control the dynamics of semi-active suspension systems of vehicles using magneto-rheological (MR) fluid dampers. A full car model is used to design and evaluate the performance of the proposed semi-active controlled suspension system. Four mixed mode MR dampers are designed, manufactured, and integrated with four independent sliding mode controllers. The siding mode controller is designed to decrease the energy consumption and maintain robustness. In order to overcome the chattering of the sliding mode controllers, a fuzzy logic control strategy is merged into the sliding mode controller. The proposed fuzzy-sliding mode controller is designed and fabricated. The performance of the semi-active suspensions is evaluated in both the time and frequency domains. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed fuzzy-sliding mode controller can effectively suppress the vibration of vehicles and improve their ride comfort and handling stability. Furthermore, it is shown that the "chattering" of the sliding mode controller is smoothed when it is integrated with a fuzzy logic control strategy. Although the cost function of the fuzzy-sliding mode control is a slightly higher than that of a classical LQR controller, the control effectiveness and robustness are enhanced considerably.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.16 no.5 s.98
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• pp.104-111
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• 1999

A semi-active suspension system for a vehicle using an Electrorheological Fluid damper has been studied. Apparent viscosity of ERF(Electrorheological Fluid) can be changed rapidly by applying electric field. The damping force of ER damper can be selectively controlled by employing electric field to the ER fluid domain. This paper deals with a two-degree-of-freedom suspension using the ER damper for a quarter car model. An intelligent control method using fuzzy control with genetic algorithm has been employed to control the damping force of the ER damper. The GA designs the optimal structure and performance of Fuzzy Net Controller having hybrid structure. The designed fuzzy net controller has been compared with the skyhook type controller for a quarter car model. The computer simulation results show that the semi-active suspension with ER damper has a good performance in the sense of ride quality with less vibration for ground vehicle.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.85-90
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• 2000

In this paper, a robust $H_{\infty}$ a controller for semi-active suspension system is proposed. For the improvement of ride quality, the robust $H_{\infty}$ controller is designed to satisfy robust stability and road disturbance attenuation using an $H_{\infty}$ control design procedure. The performances of the design controller for some road conditions are evaluated by computer simulation and finally these simulation results show the usefulness and applicability of the proposed robust $H_{\infty}$ controller.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.128-137
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• 2003

Continuously variable damper can yield diverse damping forces for a single damping velocity. It is widely used in the semi-active suspension system since, with right control logics, it can enhance ride comfort compared to the passive damper while not degrading driving safety. A key to the successful design of the continuously variable damper is the knowledge of its complex and nonlinear characteristics. In this paper, research has been done for analyzing characteristics of the continuously variable damper. Various damper components have been investigated and their effects upon the force-velocity characteristics of the damper have been examined. The effects of the damper characteristics change upon ride comfort and driving safety have also been investigated by numerical simulations.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.419-434
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• 2014

In this paper, the electromagnetic damper (EMD), which is composed of a permanent-magnet rotary DC motor, a ball screw and a nut, is considered to be analyzed as a semi-active damper. The main objective pursued in the paper is to study the two degrees of freedom (DOF) model of the semi-active electromagnetic suspension system (SAEMSS) performance and energy regeneration controlled by on-off and continuous damping control strategies. The nonlinear equations of the SAEMSS must therefore be extracted. The effects of the EMD characteristics on ride comfort, handling performance and road holding for the passive electromagnetic suspension system (PEMSS) are first analyzed and damping control strategies effects on the SAEMSS performance and energy regeneration are investigated next. The results obtained from the simulation show that the SAEMSS provides better performance and more energy regeneration than the PEMSS. Moreover, the results reveal that the on-off hybrid control strategy leads to better performance in comparison with the continuous skyhook control strategy, however, the energy regeneration of the continuous skyhook control strategy is more than that of the on-off hybrid control strategy (except for on-off skyhook control strategy).

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.2179-2186
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• 1997

In this paper, the performance of a semi-active suspension system for a passenger car has been investigated. Alternative semi-active suspensions control laws has been compared via simulations. The control laws investigated in this study are : sprung mass velocity feedback control law, sky-hook damping control law, and state feedback control law. Simulation results show that a semi-active suspension has potential to improve ride quality of automobiles.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2002

Semi-active suspension systems are greatly expected to be in the mainstream of future controlled suspensions fur passenger cars. In this study, a continuous variable damper for a passenger car suspension is developed. It is controlled actively and exhibits high performance with light weight, low cost, and low energy consumption. To get fast response of the damper, reverse damping mechanism is adapted, and to get small pressure change rate after blow-off, a pilot controlled proportional valve is designed and analyzed. The reverse continuous variable damper is designed as a HS-SH damper which offers good body control with reduced transferred input force from tire, compared with any other type of suspension system. The damper structure is designed, so that rebound and compression damping force can be tuned independently, of which variable valve is placed externally. The rate of pressure change with respect to the flow rate after blow-offbecomes smooth when the fixed orifice size increases. Damping forces are measured with the change of the solenoid current at the different piston velocities to confirm the maximum hysteresis of 20N, linearity, and variance of damping farce. The damping farce variance is wide and continuous, and is controlled by the spoof opening, of which scheme is usually adapted in proportional valves. The reverse continuous variable damper developed in this study is expected to be utilized in the semi-active suspension systems in passenger cars after its performance and simplicity of the design is confirmed through real car test.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.807-815
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• 2000

In this paper, modified discrete time preview control algorithms for active and semi-active suspension systems are derived based on a simple mathematical 4 DOF half-car model. The discrete time preview control laws for ride comfort are employed in the simulation. The algorithms for MIMO system contain control strategies reacting against body forces that occur at cornering, accelerating, braking, or under payload, in addition to road disturbances. Matlab simulation results for the discrete time case are compared with those for the continuous time case and the appropriateness of the discrete time algorithms are verified by the of simulation results. Passive, active, and semi-active system responses to a sinusoidal input and an asphalt road input are analysed and evaluated. The simulation results show the extent of performance degradation due to numerical errors related to the length of the sampling time and time delay.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.453-464
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• 2002

The electrorheological(ER) fluid is a new material and is used for the mechanical motion devices such as semi-active suspensions, high speed clutches, and vibration isolators. The ER fluid applications need high voltage power supplies having special requirements to control the viscosity of the ER fluid. This paper deals with the development of the high voltage power supply for the semi-active suspension system using the ER fluid. The characteristics of the ER fluid are analyzed, and the design and implementation of the high voltage power supply are presented. It is well demonstrated through the experiment that the developed high voltage power supply shows a good performance suitable for the ER fluid application.

• Journal of KSNVE
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.683-689
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• 1998

A control algorithm for multi-stage dampers is developed based on the mode skyhook control concept, and implemented on the full vehicle system environment. The test vehicle system is equipped with the real time controller, four-stage variable dampers and sensors. The real time controller is developed using a digital signal processor(DSP), digital I/O, A/D and D/A converters. The dampers are driven by the electromagnetic actuators of less than 20 msec response time. The sensors include accelerometers, relative displacement transducers, and steering wheel rate sensors, etc. Through a series of tests in laboratory and proving ground, the performance of the semi-active suspension system is evaluated and it is shown that the vehicle dynamic characteristics is improved with the developed damping system. Futhermore, the parameter tuning methods to enhance vehicle dynamic performance are propsoed.