Parameters uncertainty in pareto optimization of nonlinear inerter-based suspension system under nonstationary random road excitation

Ignoring the possible impacts of uncertainties in vehicle components during the design phase can undermine the safety of passengers and the vehicle performance. The main function of a suspension system is to provide satisfactory ride comfort and road-holding with a sufficiently low probability of rollover. Despite many studies on the design of new suspension systems with inerters, the effect of uncertainties in vehicle weight and tire stiffness on the design of suspension with inerters has not received much attentions. This paper presents a new type of suspension with inerters and asymmetric dampers and investigates the dynamic behavior of a vehicle under variable vehicle speed. Moreover, the effect of uncertainties on the choice of acceptable values of inerters is evaluated. For this investigation, the authors developed a 9-DOF full vehicle model with roll and yaw motions under non-stationary random road excitations in the time and frequency domains and studied its dynamic response with different suspension models. The optimal design was performed using a multi-objective optimization algorithm called MOEA/D. The best model was then used to determine the effect of uncertainties on the choice of inerters. The optimization results show that using the optimized suspension with inerters and nonlinear dampers instead of conventional design improves the ride comfort by 0.16%, the vehicle road-holding by 3.54%, and the rollover probability by 44.73%. In the proposed model, by changing the values of vehicle parameters with uncertainty, the choice of inerters to have an acceptable performance would be variable.

Analysis and Experimental Investigation of Vibration Characteristics of Rotary Platform of Hydraulic Excavator under Complex Working Conditions

The rotary platform is the load-bearing substrate of a hydraulic excavator. The dynamic characteristics of the rotary platform directly affect the reliability and safety of the whole machine of a hydraulic excavator. In this work, the characteristics of the main external excitations acting on the hydraulic excavator such as the engine excitation, pressure pulsation excitation of the piston pump, inertial excitation of the working device, and road excitation are analyzed. The vibration transmission paths under the action of external excitations are ascertained. A vibration test method for the rotary platform of the hydraulic excavator is proposed. The vibration characteristics of the rotary platform under complex working conditions are researched, and the internal relationships between the vibration characteristics of the rotary platform and the engine excitation, pressure pulsation excitation of the piston pump, and road excitation are analyzed experimentally. The results show that the rotary platform is subjected to different excitations when it is under different working conditions. Moreover, the internal relationships between the dynamic characteristics of the rotary platform and the external excitation characteristics can be discovered by analyzing the vibration signals of the rotary platform, and the dynamic characteristics of the whole machine of the hydraulic excavator can be deeply studied based on the vibration characteristics of the rotary platform.

Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control of Vehicle Magnetorheological Semi-Active Air Suspension

In order to reduce vehicle vibration during driving conditions, a fuzzy sliding mode control strategy (FSMC) for semi-active air suspension based on the magnetorheological (MR) damper is proposed. The MR damper used in the semi-active air suspension system was tested and analyzed. Based on the experimental data, the genetic algorithm was used to identify the parameters of the improved hyperbolic tangent model, which was derived for the MR damper. At the same time, an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was used to build the reverse model of the MR damper. The model of a quarter vehicle semi-active air suspension system equipped with a MR damper was established. Aiming at the uncertainty of the air suspension system, fuzzy control was used to adjust the boundary layer of the sliding mode control, which can effectively suppress the influence of chattering on the control accuracy and ensure system stability. Taking random road excitation and impact road excitation as the input signal, the simulation analysis of passive air suspension, semi-active air suspension based on SMC and FSMC was carried out, respectively. The results show that the semi-active air suspension based on FSMC has better vibration attenuating performance and ride comfort.

The method of kinematic excitation reconstruction based on measured suspension dynamic responses – experimental verification

The paper presents the method of kinematic road excitation reconstruction based on measured suspension dynamic responses and its reconstruction with use of estimated displacements of unsprung mass as a preliminary approximation of kinematic excitation and tracking control system with a PID controller that allows for faithful reconstruction of unsprung mass accelerations and, in turn, kinematic excitations. The authors performed an experimental verification of the method with use of one axle car trailer and measurements of road profile and acquiring signals of suspension dynamics responses. The signal processing methodology and obtained results are presented for random and determined excitations. The necessary requirements to use the method effectively were defined and its limitations were listed.

Dynamic abuse testing of airbag system for passenger car under vehicle-road conditions and identification method for high-risk triggering items

Determination of the triggering conditions for automobile airbags is a complex problem because vehicles often run under transient conditions due to the dynamic influence from varying road conditions. The research into malfunctions of automobile airbags is an important and challenging topic. In this work, the peak acceleration and moving window integration algorithms were used to obtain the high-risk abuse items from a test matrix that consisted of 111 items which were under multiple road environment excitation, including condition categories for typical roads, curb striking, potholes and drains, and roadblocks. A novel multi-channel data reduction method and improved clustering method based on abuse probability sorting were proposed, and based on the specific characteristic constraints for the automobile airbag malfunction test results, by construction of a false triggering probability model and discussion of the weight factors of the two algorithms, importance rankings for the high-risk false action items were realized based on the relative probability. Finally, 53 high-risk abuse items were identified from a large set of 111 test items through 10-channel acceleration sensors. After analysis and comparison of the test condition details, conclusions of high-risk items are drawn with regard to the vehicle-road excitation that affects airbag abuse. The consistency of the identification results with the Chinese national standard verifies the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Variable universe fuzzy control of the wheel loader semi-active cab suspension with multimode switching shock absorber

The aim of this work is to design a variable universe fuzzy control of a wheel loader semi-active cab suspension with damping multimode switching shock absorber. Considering the cost and reliability, a new type of shock absorber, whose adjustable damping characteristics are achieved by just changing the on–off statuses of two solenoid valves, is applied to the wheel loader cab suspension. The vibration model of the wheel loader, which considers the vibration characteristics of the working device, the four-wheel correlated random road excitation, and the engine vibration excitation simultaneously, is established first. Based on the working principle of the target shock absorber, the damping multi-state switching model is also established to reflect the relationship between the damping coefficients and the on–off statuses of two solenoid valves. Then, a variable universe fuzzy damping control strategy, which can determine the optimal switching sequences of the damping modes according to the cab suspension performance indexes, is designed. Finally, simulation analyses were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control approach of the wheel loader semi-active cab suspension with multimode switching shock absorber.

Assessment of Tire Features for Modeling Vehicle Stability in Case of Vertical Road Excitation

Two trends could be observed in the evolution of road transport. First, with the traffic becoming increasingly intensive, the motor road infrastructure is developed; more advanced, greater quality, and more durable materials are used; and pavement laying and repair techniques are improved continuously. The continued growth in the number of vehicles on the road is accompanied by the ongoing improvement of the vehicle design with the view towards greater vehicle controllability as the key traffic safety factor. The change has covered a series of vehicle systems. The tire structure and materials used are subject to continuous improvements in order to provide the maximum possible grip with the road pavement. New solutions in the improvement of the suspension and driving systems are explored. Nonetheless, inevitable controversies have been encountered, primarily, in the efforts to combine riding comfort and vehicle controllability. Practice shows that these systems perform to a satisfactory degree only on good quality roads, as they have been designed specifically for the latter. This could be the cause of the more complicated car control and accidents on the lower-quality roads. Road ruts and local unevenness that impair car stability and traffic safety are not avoided even on the trunk roads. In this work, we investigated the conditions for directional stability, the influence of road and vehicle parameters on the directional stability of the vehicle, and developed recommendations for the road and vehicle control systems to combine to ensure traffic safety. We have developed a refined dynamic model of vehicle stability that evaluates the influence of tire tread and suspensions. The obtained results allow a more accurate assessment of the impact of the road roughness and vehicle suspension and body movements on vehicle stability and the development of recommendations for the safe movement down the road of known characteristics.

Modeling and suppression of unbalanced radial force for in-wheel motor driving system

Considering the negative vertical dynamics effect of switched reluctance motor on an in-wheel motor driving system, this article presents a modeling and suppression method for unbalanced radial force of the in-wheel motor driving system. To tease out the coupling relationship within the in-wheel motor driving system, this investigation, respectively, explores the principle of unbalanced radial force and the coupling relationship between rotor eccentricity and road excitation based on the suspension response model with unbalanced radial force under road excitation. The switched reluctance motor nonlinear analytical model was fitted by the Fourier series, and its radial electromagnetic force was modeled and analyzed by the Maxwell stress tensor method. To mitigate the influence of radial electromagnetic force fluctuation and unbalanced radial force amplitude value under eccentricity condition on the in-wheel motor driving system, the elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm was adopted to improve radial electromagnetic force fluctuation and unbalanced radial force amplitude value of the switched reluctance motor. The simulation results show that the proposed optimization method can suppress the radial electromagnetic force fluctuation and unbalanced radial force amplitude value, and the negative effect of vertical dynamics of the in-wheel motor driving system is conspicuously mitigated.