Smart/intelligent vibration and shock control by active or semi-active means

Abstract

In this contribution, some results of investigation of an electro-pneumatic active vibration control system for use in driver’s seats will be given first. The system uses a common air spring as the force generator and either a flow control or pressure control proportional valve to generate the active force. The structures of the linear controller, employing both the feed-back ‘‘sky-hook’’-type additional damping and the feed-forward vibration control for both types of electro-pneumatic transducers, will be illustrated. Both systems, of different control structure, are capable of mitigation of the vibration exposure of the driver by 8 to 10 dB, measured by a standardized method. The theoretical possibility of use of active or semi-active vibration control systems for smart/intelligent vibration and shock control will be briefly discussed. The idea is to use already available active or semi-active means to rapidly modify the damping properties of a linear oscillatory system according to commands based on fast evaluation of input vibration and so intelligently adapt the structure to the character of vibration excitation.