An alternative control strategy for semi-active dampers on off road vehicles

Abstract

A control strategy is developed that takes into account the pitch and roll degrees of freedom on an off road wheeled vehicle in order to control discrete adjustable semi-active dampers more effectively. From the literature it was concluded that some existing semi-active control strategies were derived by employing models with either one or two degrees of freedom. If these strategies are applied to control semi-active dampers on a vehicle, each wheel station is controlled separately. The other degrees of freedom of the sprung mass, such as roll and pitch, are therefore not explicitly taken into account. The alternative control strategy determines that combination of damper states that will provide the highest acceleration opposing the movement of the sprung mass (deceleration), or the lowest acceleration in the direction of movement of the sprung mass. Simulation and experimental results indicated that the strategy that minimises the highest absolute value of the roll or the pitch acceleration performed significantly better than an existing semi-active control strategy (based on the absolute and relative damper velocities), especially when ride comfort under off-road conditions was taken into account. Four conventional dampers were modified, adding a by-pass assembly and controllable valve. The effect of using semi-active dampers on an off-road vehicle was evaluated during an extensive experimental programme, using ride comfort as basis. Results showed that the control strategy, as developed in this study, provided better responses in comparison to the passive configuration and an existing control strategy.