Comfort-oriented Semi-active Matching Design with a Magneto-Rheological Air Suspension Mechanism

Abstract

This study aims to present a method for matching the stiffness and damping of a magneto-rheological (MR) air suspension system that will ensure optimal ride comfort of a road vehicle traveling on roads with different roughness and speeds. The authors study the matching of the damping coefficient with the damping ratio, and obtain the adjustment range of the damping coefficient. Based on the linearization of the air spring, a suspension model with adjustable stiffness and adjustable damping has been established. To improve the ride comfort of the vehicle and to control the dynamic deflection and dynamic load, the optimal matching of stiffness and damping under different working conditions has been analyzed by using the stepwise optimal solution method. Then, the authors design four stiffness levels and five damping levels, and propose the parameter matching scheme of the MR air suspension system. The theoretical analysis shows that the proposed scheme can improve vehicle vertical dynamic performance. Four levels of adjustment for the width of the orifice between the air spring and auxiliary chamber and six levels of adjustment for the MR damper have been designed respectively. The findings of this study will inform other studies on vibration control.