Control performance evaluation of ER suspension system under road test

摘要

This paper presents vehicle road test of a semi-active suspension system equipped with continuously controllable electrorheological(ER)dampers.As a first step,front and rear ER dampers are designed and manufactured based on the damping force levels and mechanical dimensions required for a commercial middle-sized passenger vehicle.After experimentally evaluating dynamic characteristics of the ER dampers,the test vehicle is prepared for road test by integrating voltage amplifiers,real-time data acquisition system and numerous sensors such as accelerometer and gyroscope.Subsequently,the manufactured four ER dampers(two for front parts and two for rear parts)are incorporated with the test vehicle and a skyhook control algorithm is formulated and realized in the data acquisition system.In order to emphasize practical aspect of the proposed ER suspension system,road tests are undertaken on proving grounds:long waved,rugged,paved and unpaved roads.The control responses are evaluated in both time and frequency domains by activating the ER dampers.