Non-linear models of magneto-rheological dampers for semiactive control of vehicle dynamics

Abstract

The topic of this paper is the identification of an accurate model for Magneto-Rheological (MR) dampers. Among the broad set of applications where MR-dampers can be used, the results proposed in this work refer to a MR-dampers for the control of vehicle dynamics. MR-damper are highly-nonlinear systems, and their accurate modeling is a non-trivial task. MR-dampers can be modeled using two different model classes: semi-physical models and black-box models. Both approaches are considered in this work. The problem considered herein is particularly interesting from the system identification point of view: from one side, the MRdamper is a very attractive actuator, which is likely to become the key device for many dynamics and vibration control systems in the near future; on the other side, it is an example of an application problem where the accurate modeling of the actuation device is one of the most crucial part of the whole control design problem.