Magnetorheological Damper Research Articles

Vibration control and energy harvesting of adjacent structures by electromagnetic dampers considering soil-structure interaction

With rapid urbanization, the increasing density of buildings in urban areas has forced us to consider interactions between adjacent structures. However, most studies have focused on fixed foundations, neglecting soil-structure interactions (SSI). This paper addresses this gap by investigating the optimization of two adjacent structures using electromagnetic inerter dampers (EMID) under SSI. The EMID system, equipped with energy harvesting capabilities, was optimized using the Monte Carlo search method, with results demonstrating a significant reduction in dynamic response. Specifically, frequency and time domain analyses show that the EMID system reduces peak displacement and acceleration by up to 41.23% compared to uncontrolled structures. Additionally, the system efficiently converts seismic energy into electrical energy, with energy harvesting reaching peak values under intense seismic waves, such as those observed in Mexico City earthquake conditions. This innovative system not only enhances seismic performance, particularly in soft soil conditions, but also offers energy resilience by supplying emergency power, thus highlighting its potential for sustainable urban infrastructure.

Long short-term memory-enhanced semi-active control of cable vibrations with a magnetorheological damper

Long short-term memory-enhanced semi-active control of cable vibrations with a magnetorheological damper

Optimization design and performance analysis of a rotary vane magnetorheological damper for vehicle suspension based on NSGA-II

Rotary magnetorheological dampers (RMRDs) have good application prospects in semi-active suspension due to their compact structure and good sealing performance. However, the existing RMRD cannot be practically applied in the field of high-torque demand. Therefore, this paper aims to improve the mechanical performances and response-ability of a high-output torque rotary vane magnetorheological damper (RVMRD) for vehicle suspension. Firstly, the mechanical, equivalent magnetic circuit and equivalent circuit models of the RVMRD are established, and the one-at-a-time (OAAT) method is used to analyze model parameter sensitivity. Then, the multi-objective optimization design of the RVMRD is based on the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), and the magnetic field formation time of the initial and optimal RVMRD is analyzed by transient electromagnetic field analysis. Finally, to verify the validity of the multi-objective optimization design of RVMRD, the initial and optimal RVMRD were tested for mechanical performances and response time. The mechanical performance testing results show that the output torque and dynamic range of the optimal RVMRD are significantly improved, and maintain good mechanical performance at different temperatures. The response time testing results show that the optimal RVMRD has a phased improvement in response-ability under different step currents, which can effectively suppress vibration and shock in high-frequency dynamic environments The research results in this paper provide helpful guidance for developing and optimizing an RMRD, which has excellent potential for application in the large-scale mechanical industry with space-limited and high-torque requirements.

Seismic Control of Tower-Pile System of Suspension Bridges Considering Soil-Structure Interaction under Near-Field Ground Motions

The increased height of bridge towers makes them susceptible to ambient vibrations, such as ground motion excitation. Their seismic vibration may be intensified by the interaction of surrounding soil and the bridges, compelling us to consider these effects. Vibration control strategies can be employed in this case to avoid unfavourable seismic oscillations. In this study, the seismic response of the tower-pier system of the Golden Gate suspension bridge, considering the soil-structure interaction, was controlled by the tuned mass damper (TMD), magnetorheological damper (MR), and active tuned mass damper (ATMD) using fuzzy logic controllers (FLC) types I and II as the inference part. Four strong near-field ground motion records were consecutively imposed on the structure, and the control system was optimized using the Grey Wolf Optimizer algorithm. The analysis indicates that by increasing the softness of the soil, the maximum displacement increased, and the stored energy dissipation rate decreased. By softening the soil, the stored energy decreased during the time of the velocity pulse compared to the uncontrolled condition. Ultimately, the results indicated that the ATMD with FLC II was the most effective system for controlling the seismic vibration of a tower-pier system.

Magnetorheological Damper Design Based on Improved H–B Model

Abstract To address the issues of sedimentation of the working medium,high sealing requirements, and rapid increase in stiffness under medium- and high-frequency excitation leading to severe energy dissipation in traditional magnetorheological dampers, a magnetorheological composite material with good sedimentation stability and low sealing requirements was prepared and tested. An improved Herschel–Bulkley model was established to characterize the mechanical properties of the composite material. Furthermore, a shear magnetorheological damper was designed and manufactured based on the composite material, and the performance response law of the damper under medium- and high-frequency excitation was tested by designed experiments. The results show that the dynamic stiffness of the damper increases from 4.83 × 105N/m to 6.32 × 105 N/m when the test frequency is increased from 5 Hz to 20 Hz under the current excitation of 3A, and the single-cycle energy consumption of the damper under the full-band is about 0.037J, which verified the energy consumption capacity of the designed magnetorheological damper under medium- and high-frequency vibrations.

Robust fuzzy output feedback control for a magnetorheological semi-active air suspension system with time-delay and actuator saturation

Magnetorheological fluid (MRF) dampers have been utilized in semi-active air suspension (SAAS) due to their attractive advantages. This paper investigates a novel robust fuzzy output feedback controller for semi-active air suspension with MRF damper (SAAS-MRFD), considering time delay and actuator saturation. An aero-thermodynamics theory is first utilized to describe the nonlinear air spring. The damping force of the MRF damper is represented by a hyperbolic tangent model. The interval type-2 (IT-2) Takagi–Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy method is second employed to capture those nonlinearities of the air spring and MRF damper. Considering the difficulty to measure all states, a novel dynamic output feedback (DOF) controller is developed by an appropriate Lyapunov–Krasovskii function and the reciprocally convex technique with consideration of time delay, actuator saturation, and output constraints. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is validated by both simulation and a quarter-car test rig (QCTR). The results indicate that the proposed controller has better performance in vibration reduction than the recent similar controllers in the literature.

Semi-Active Suspension Design for an In-Wheel-Motor-Driven Electric Vehicle Using a Dynamic Vibration-Absorbing Structure and PID-Controlled Magnetorheological Damper

Abstract: The in-wheel motor (IWM) powertrain layout offers greater design flexibility and higher efficiency of an electric vehicle but has limited commercial success mainly due to the concerns of increased unsprung mass. This paper proposes a semi-active suspension system for in-wheel motors that combines both a dynamic vibration-absorbing structure (DVAS) and a PID-controlled MR damper, in order to achieve optimised comfort, handling and IWM vibration for a small car application. Whilst PID control and DVAS are not entirely new concepts, the usage of both optimisation techniques in a semi-active in-wheel motor suspension has seen limited implementation, which makes the current work novel and significant. The semi-active suspension operating both in passive fail-safe mode and full feedback control was compared to a conventional in-wheel motor passive suspension in terms of sprung mass acceleration, displacement, stator acceleration, tyre deflection and suspension travel for three different road profile inputs using MATLAB/Simulink. The implementation of a PID-controlled MR damper improved road comfort and road holding performance and decreased in-wheel motor vibration over the DVAS passive suspension mainly in terms of a maximum peak amplitude decrease of 40%, 35% and 32% for the sprung mass acceleration, tyre deflection and stator acceleration, respectively. The results are significant since they show that the use of a simple, easily implemented control scheme like PID control was able to significantly improve IWM suspension performance when paired with a DVAS. This study provides further confidence to manufacturers to commercially develop and implement the IWM layout as its major disadvantage can be reasonably addressed using a simple readily available control approach.

An interpretable unsteady flow model for membrane structure shear-valve type magnetorheological damper

The study introduces an innovative, interpretable, nonlinear damping hysteresis model for membrane structure shear-valve magnetorheological dampers anchored in non-Newtonian fluid mechanics. In addition to the fluid mechanism, the model takes into account the hysteresis phenomenon of magnetic fluids. Drawing upon the parallel plate model—predominantly utilized in steady-state analyses—the Laplace transform is employed to solve the transient fluid constitutive equation in the [Formula: see text]-domain, drawing parallels with Newtonian fluids and introducing robust prior conditions to minimize the problem-solving scale. A fast inverse Laplace transformation algorithm is applied to achieve the numerical solution in the time domain. This model can be quickly built from the damper’s design parameters, laying the foundation for swift, and proficient damper control. Furthermore, a novel membrane-structured shear-valve-type MR damper is designed and fabricated, which exhibits minimal passive damping and accurately reflects the genuine fluid dynamic characteristics, optimizes the methodology for calculating the damper’s magnetic field and acquires damping characteristic curves to authenticate the proposed unsteady flow model. Experimental outcomes demonstrate that our proposed model dispenses the need for a priori damping characteristic data, provides robust computational speed and precision, and maintains interpretability.

Optimization of control forces in a three-dimensional frame with magnetorheological dampers using a hybrid algorithm

Optimization of control forces in a three-dimensional frame with magnetorheological dampers using a hybrid algorithm

Enhancing ride comfort of semi-active suspension through collaboration control using dung beetle optimizer optimized Fuzzy PID controller

The enhancement of automobile quality is a significant area of modern research and development, with a focus on improving ride comfort and driving experience. This is achieved not only through structural improvements but also through the optimization of suspension control strategies. To enhance the ability of online real-time adjustment and overcome the limitations of fuzzy control, this study combines dung beetle optimizer (DBO), Fuzzy control, and Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control to propose a reduced optimization complexity control method to improve MR damper control. The control parameters generated by fuzzy control are utilized as the initial values for DBO iteration to obtain the optimal solution, which is subsequently fed into the PID controller to regulate changes in the actuator’s magnetic field. Use MATLAB/Simulink to build a quarter semi-active suspension model with magnetorheological (MR) dampers for simulation analysis. Under sinusoidal and random disturbances, compared with the passive suspension, the vehicle acceleration of the Fuzzy-DBO-PID controller is reduced by 51%, 50.82%, 47.56% and 11.42%. Compared with Fuzzy-PID, the vehicle acceleration of Fuzzy-DBO-PID is reduced by 25.98%, 32.86%, 29.41%, and 7.19% on sinusoidal and random disturbances, which improves the ride comfort and verifies the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

A self-powered triboelectric wind detection sensor with adaptive electromagnetic damping adjusting mechanism

A self-powered triboelectric wind detection sensor with adaptive electromagnetic damping adjusting mechanism

Design, experiment and modeling of a damper based on magnetic gradient pinch mode MR valve

Abstract In this study, a novel Magnetorheological (MR) damper designed based on the Magnetic Gradient Pitch Mode MR (MGPMR) valve, is investigated analytically and experimentally. The prototype and experimental platform are designed and established to characterize the dynamic force- displacement/velocity properties under board ranges of excitation and current conditions with the consideration of the effect of design parameters, which mainly includes the number of the non-magnetic rings and the diameter of the flow channel. The experimental data shows that the tunable damping range is positive correlation with the number of non-magnetic rings and negative correlation with the diameter of flow channel. Therefore, an analytical model, which considers the hysteresis damping model of the MGPMR valve, ideal gas model, and the hysteresis friction of seals, is established to describes the dynamic force- displacement/velocity properties of the MGPMR damper with 4 non-magnetic rings and 7mm diameter of the MGPMR valve. The proposed hysteresis damping model of the MGPMR valve consists of the tangential hyperbolic hysteresis model, tunable viscous damping, and fluid inertial together with the identified model parameters. The validity of the proposed model of MGPMR damper is demonstrated through a comparison between the simulation and experiment results showing good agreement of the hysteresis loops and output force-displacement/velocity characteristics under wide range of excitation and currents conditions.

Parameters identification of magnetorheological damper based on improved grey wolf optimization algorithm

Abstract Parameter identification of the mechanical model of magnetorheological dampers is usually carried out through a combination of optimization algorithms, but there is little research on the impact of the optimization algorithm itself on the identification results. In order to improve the accuracy of parameter identification results, the influence of the parameters of the optimization algorithm itself on the fitting results was investigated in this study, and the optimization algorithm adopted the improved grey wolf algorithm. The effects of different wolf pack numbers and iteration times on recognition results were examined in this study. The various parameters in the mechanical model of magnetorheological dampers are determined utilizing the optimal combination of algorithm parameters. Finally, the validity of the identification results was verified by evaluating the consistency between the identified damping force and the experimental damping force. The results indicate that when the optimal combination is used, the accuracy of parameter identification can be improved.

New Mixed Skyhook and Displacement–Velocity Control for Improving the Effectiveness of Vibration Isolation in the Lateral Suspension System of a Railway Vehicle

Demands for increasing the velocity and load carrying capacity of railway vehicles are a challenge to the passive suspension systems used for isolating the lateral vibrations of the carbody of a railway vehicle, especially under a wide range of vibration frequencies. Semiactive suspension systems, especially systems with a magnetorheological damper (MRD), have been investigated as promising alternatives. Many control algorithms have been developed for fine-tuning the damping force generated by MRDs, but they have been ineffective in isolating carbody vibrations at or around the resonance frequencies of the carbody and bogie. This study aims to develop a mixed control algorithm for a new skyhook (SH) control and a new displacement–velocity (DV) control to improve the effectiveness of vibration isolation in resonance frequency regions while producing high performance across the remaining frequencies. The damping coefficient of the new SH controller depends on the vibration velocity of the components of the suspension system and the skyhook damping variable, whereas that of the new DV controller depends on the velocity and displacement of the components of the suspension system and the stiffness variable. The values of the skyhook damping variable and stiffness variable were identified from the vibration velocity of the carbody using the trial and error method. The results of a numerical simulation problem indicated that the proposed control method worked effectively at low frequencies, similar to the conventional SH–DV controller, whereas it significantly improved ride comfort at high frequencies; at the resonance frequency of the bogie (14.6 Hz), in particular, it reduced the vibration velocity and acceleration of the carbody by 50.85% and 45.39%, respectively, compared with the conventional mixed SH–DV controller. The simplicity and high performance of the new mixed SH–DV control algorithm makes it a promising tool to be applied to the semiactive suspension of railway vehicles in real-world applications.

Study on the dual-segment arctangent model of magnetorheological damper (MRD)

Abstract Magnetorheological fluid damper (MRD) is a damping device that utilizes the instantaneous variable characteristics of magnetorheological fluid (MRF) in magnetic field to control damping force. At present, there are some problems with the existing mechanical parametric models of MRD, such as the complexity of parameters in the Bouc-Wen model, low model accuracy, and the inability of the Bingham model to accurately capture the hysteresis characteristics of damping force with velocity variation. In response to these issues, on the base of MRD performance testing, a dual-segment arctangent model based on arctangent function is proposed. This model uses the arctangent function to describe the nonlinearity of the damping force output curve. And using piecewise fitting method to accurately capture the hysteresis characteristics of the output curve. Compared with existing parametric models such as the Bingham model, Sigmoid model, Bouc-wen improved model, et.al., the dual-segment arctangent model shows simpler parameters and higher model fitting accuracy. The comparative analysis of the fitting results based on experimental data confirms the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed model, providing valuable reference for the development of high-precision MRD mechanical models.

Self-Powered Actively Controlled Lateral Suspensions of High-Speed Trains Using Energy-Regenerative Electromagnetic Damper and Model Predictive Control

Although traditional active suspension can offer superior riding comfort and maneuverability over its semiactive and passive counterparts, its reliance on an external power supply has hindered its widespread applications in vehicles. To overcome this deficiency, this paper proposes an innovative self-powered active suspension design for a high-speed train (HST), by leveraging the recently emerging H-bridge circuit-based electromagnetic damper (HB-EMD), allowing bidirectional power flow between the damper and controlled system. The capability of HB-EBD to achieve unique self-powered active skyhook control was previously proved in a simplified single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) structure under harmonic excitations; however, the feasibility of employing HB-EMD to realize active vibration control for more complex structural systems under stochastic excitations remains an unanswered question. One main challenge is designing a novel control algorithm that can simultaneously realize vibration control and self-powering objectives, which is unattainable by traditional active control algorithms. In this study, an ad hoc model predictive controller (MPC) is designed to guarantee the fulfillment of these dual objectives. To evaluate the performance of the proposed active suspension design, two separate HB-EMDs are implemented on the front and rear sides of the secondary lateral suspensions of an HST model subjected to stochastic track irregularities. At a speed of 200[Formula: see text]km/h, the proposed HB-EMDs with MPC could achieve a 55% reduction in the lateral acceleration of the car body in comparison with passive suspension, meanwhile maintaining energy harvesting performance with an average output power of 25.0[Formula: see text]W. In contrast, a traditional active linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) controller consumes 72.7[Formula: see text]W power when performing comparable vibration reduction. This study, for the first time, validates the feasibility of designing a self-powered, actively controlled secondary lateral HST suspension system without relying on an external power source, which will potentially pave the way for a new active vibration control paradigm for other generic structures.

Research on vertical vibration characteristics of rolling mill based on magnetorheological fluid damper absorber

The study of rolling mill vibration theory has always been a scientific frontier in the field of rolling forming, which is very important to the quality of sheet metal and the stable operation of equipment. A magnetorheological fluid damper absorber is designed to control the nonlinear vertical vibration of rolling mill. Considering the fractional order and delay factors in the control effect of magnetorheological fluid, the fractional order delay nonlinear vertical vibration equation with magnetorheological damping damper is established. The amplitude-frequency characteristic equations of the main resonance and sub-resonance of the system are solved by multi-scale method. The effects of stiffness coefficient, damping coefficient, time delay, fractional order, and exciting force on the vibration characteristics of roller system are analyzed by comparing the amplitude-frequency curve, time-domain curve and phase diagram. The transition set of the steady-state response of the system and the corresponding bifurcation topology structure are analyzed by using the singularity theory. A magnetorheological fluid damper absorber platform of rolling mill is built based on modern test technology, and the influence laws of the control threshold, control current, type of magnetorheological fluid and reduction rate are analyzed. The correctness and feasibility of the design of the magnetorheological fluid damper absorber are verified, which provided theoretical guidance and technical support for the nonlinear dynamic analysis and stability control of the rolling mill.

State estimation of magnetorheological suspension of all-terrain vehicle based on a novel adaptive Sage–Husa Kalman filtering

Abstract For the magnetorheological suspension control system of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), state estimation is an effective method to obtain system feedback signals that cannot be directly measured by sensors. However, when confronted with modeling errors and sudden changes in sensor noise during complex road driving, conventional estimation methods with fixed parameters encounter challenges in accurately estimating the states of ATV suspension system. To address this issue, this paper introduces a novel adaptive Sage–Husa Kalman filter (ASHKF) algorithm to estimate the sprung and unsprung velocity of ATV suspension system. The algorithm uses exponential weighting function and gradient detection function to adaptively adjust the attenuation coefficient according to the driving conditions of the ATV, thereby realizing real-time correction of the covariance matrix of the prediction error. Ultimately, through simulation and real-vehicle testing, it is demonstrated that the designed ASHKF is able to effectively improve the state estimation accuracy of the speed signal of the suspension system under off-road driving conditions with low-frequency noise and outlying disturbances, and the accuracy is improved by 62.70% compared with that of the conventional Sage–Husa Kalman filter (SHKF).

Experimental analysis of the electromagnetic damper of a non-ideal system revisited

Abstract The use of limited power motors fixed to flexible structures is widely used in engineering and has seen a significant increase in published studies. These components form a non-ideal system, which can cause undesirable phenomena throughout its execution, such as the capture of parametric oscillation by resonance, studied by Sommerfeld, whose effect bears his name. One study, on a vibration absorber in a non-ideal system, was done in Petrocino et al., Meccanica, v. 58, n. 1, p. 287-302, 2023, on a model that represents a fixed beam and at the free end a motor with its unbalanced shaft. In this work, based on the equations that govern the movement, an analytical development was carried out, using the average method, to obtain an approximate solution and numerical simulations with the absorber on and off. The results demonstrated a reduction in parametric excitation, an effect caused by the electromagnetic absorber. Based on the parameters of this revisited work, a prototype was built to carry out experimental tests. A beam was fixed at one end and at the free end a DC motor was fixed with an unbalance on its axis, a magnet fixed at the free end immersed in the core of a coil as a damping actuator. When the motor is accelerated, it causes a parametric excitation in the beam and is captured by resonance, where the damping action is evident. The results of the tests were compared with the results of the models from the revisited work, validating the performance of the passive electromagnetic vibration absorber.

Self-Sensing Approach for Semi-Active Control of Variable Damping Electromagnetic Suspension System

This paper combines the Kalman filter observer with self-sensing technology and integrates it into the electromagnetic damper (EMD), estimating the displacement and velocity of the EMD based on the three-phase voltage generated by the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). The self-sensing performance of the EMD is verified through theoretical analysis and experimental results. A vehicle suspension vibration control system composed of one-quarter vehicle electromagnetic suspension (EMS), a acceleration damping driven control (ADDC) algorithm, and a vibration excitation platform is established to test the vibration control performance of the self-sensing EMS. The experimental results show that under random road excitation, compared to passive suspension, the self-sensing-based ADDC reduced the vehicle vertical acceleration of the vehicle suspension, with a 28.92% decrease in the root mean square (RMS) value of the vehicle vertical acceleration. This verifies the effectiveness of the self-sensing capability of the EMS system. Incorporating self-sensing technology into the EMS system improves the vibration reduction performance of the suspension.