Vibration control of an active horizontal seat suspension with a permanent magnet synchronous motor

Abstract

This paper describes the control design of an active horizontal seat suspension with an electromagnetic actuator. First, physical and mathematical models of an active vibration reduction system with a seated human body are established. Then, a novel control strategy for the permanent magnet synchronous motor is developed to improve the vibro-isolation properties of the horizontal seat suspension. A multi-criteria optimisation is employed to obtain control system parameters that allow simultaneous minimisation of two conflicting vibro-isolation criteria, i.e. the seat effective amplitude transmissibility (SEAT) factor and the suspension travel. Finally, a laboratory investigation of the effectiveness of the active system is conducted and the dynamic performance of the system is compared with that of a corresponding conventional passive suspension system.