Abstract
In this study, a semi-active magneto-rheological (MR) mount is designed and manufactured to minimize unwanted vibrations for the cabin of heavy vehicles. Normally, working conditions in heavy vehicles are extremely rugged. Usually, the heavy vehicles use passive rubber mounts for the reduction of vibrations from road. However, the passive mount has definite performance limitations because the passive mount has a fixed resonance frequency when the design is finished. An MR application is one of the solutions because the viscosity of MR fluid can be controlled. As a first step, an experimental apparatus was established for performance evaluation of the mounts. The apparatus has hydraulic excitatory, force, and displacement sensors. Performance of two different passive mounts used in industrial fields were evaluated. The passive mount data of force-displacement, force-velocity, and displacement transmissibility were collected and tested. After that, an MR mount was designed and manufactured that provides better performance using the passive mount data. The MR mount uses two different flow paths, annular duct and radial channels, for generating the required damping force. The field-dependent damping forces were then evaluated with respect to the moving stroke and input current. In this work, in order to control the damping force, an on-off controller associated with the fast Fourier transform (FFT) was used. The control results of the MR mount were compared with the results of passive rubber mounts. It was shown that the semi-active MR mount can attenuate vibrations more effectively at all frequency ranges compared with the passive rubber mount.
Highlights
Heavy equipment vehicles, including wheel loaders, absolutely require suspension systems to protect workers from experiencing severe vibrations caused by several factors such as unbalanced tasks
The wheel loader is specially manufactured as one of the heavy equipment vehicles used for the construction or mining industries
MRmount mountwas wasevaluated evaluated by the experimental apparatus
Summary
Heavy equipment vehicles, including wheel loaders, absolutely require suspension systems to protect workers from experiencing severe vibrations caused by several factors such as unbalanced tasks. The wheel loader is specially manufactured as one of the heavy equipment vehicles used for the construction or mining industries. The operators of the wheel loader are exposed to various impact and vibration sources that bring harmful effects to their bodies. There are two types of the effects according to the frequency and source of the vibrations [1]. When the operator is on a vibrating object with a frequency between 5 Hz and 80 Hz, called whole-body vibration, there is a high probability of injuring the lower back or the upper limbs. Many health surveillance organizations restrict vibration exposure levels to protect workers by using specific
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
