The main motivation of this study is the design of a control strategy for semi-active vehicle suspension systems to improve ride comfort for road vehicles. In order to achieve this objective, firstly the damping characteristics of Magnetorheological dampers will be reviewed. Then an appropriate semi-active control strategy manipulating the inputs of the dampers to create suitable damping forces will be designed. Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) control strategy is the primary focus area on semi-active control throughout this study. Further, skyhook controllers are examined and compared with optimal LQR controllers. The semi-active controller is tuned using a linearized full (4 wheel) vehicle ride model with seven degrees of freedom. Some selected simulations are carried out by using a nonlinear model to tune LQR controller in an effort to optimize bounce, pitch, and roll motion of the vehicle. Time domain simulations and frequency response analysis are used to justify the effectiveness of the proposed LQR control strategy.

La suspension joue un rôle central pour la dynamique verticale d’un véhicule automobile afin d’améliorer le confort des passagers et la tenue de route. Les travaux de recherche de cette thèse sont divisés en deux grandes parties. La première partie considère le problème de commande d’une suspension semi-active dont le défi principal est de prendre en compte les contraintes de dissipativité et de débattement maximum des amortisseurs. Celles-ci sont transformées en des contraintes sur la commande et l’état d‘un système linéaire. Deux approches sont alors proposées pour la synthèse de la commande de la suspension semi-active : la commande Linéaire à Paramètres Variants (LPV) avec prise en compte de la saturation et la Commande Prédictive à base de Modèle (MPC).La deuxième partie est consacrée à l’estimation de défaut actionneur et à la commande Tolérante à ce type de défauts, avec comme application majeure le système de suspension semi-active. On considère ici comme défaut une perte de puissance de l’amortisseur (par exemple une fuite de l’huile), qui est estimée en utilisant plusieurs approches fondées sur des observateurs d’état. Puis, en fonction de l’estimation du défaut, la commande en boucle fermée est reconfigurée afin de conserver des performances pour la dynamique verticale du véhicule. / Semi-active suspension system plays a key role in enhancing comfort and road holding of vertical dynamics in automotive vehicles. This PhD thesis research work, focused on that topic, is divided into two main parts. The first one considers the semi-active suspension control problem, the main challenge of which being to handle the dissipativity constraint and suspensions stroke limitation of semi-active dampers. These constraints are recast into input and state constraints in a linear state space representation. Thereby, the semi-active suspension control is designed in the framework of Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) approach with input constraints, and of Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach.The second part is devoted to Fault Estimation and Fault Tolerant Control (FTC) in case of actuator fault, and its application to Semi-Active suspension systems. The fault considered here is the loss of actuator's efficiency (due to an oil leakage of the damper for instance when a ), which is estimated using several observer-based approaches. Then, thanks to the fault information from the estimation step, an LPV/FTC fault scheduling control is designed to limit the vehicle performance deterioration.

Orientador: Gustavo Luiz Chagas Manhães de Abreu / Resumo: Os sistemas rotativos estão frequentemente sujeitos a excitações externas e internas que provocam vibrações indesejáveis, colocando em risco a própria integridade estrutural do sistema e até mesmo a saúde dos usuários. No âmbito industrial, por exemplo, a atenuação das vibrações pode permitir aos sistemas rotativos, uma operação mais eficiente e segura, proporcionando manutenções periódicas menos frequentes evitando com isso gastos dispendiosos. Neste contexto, o controle de vibrações tem sido objeto de preocupação de inúmeros centros de pesquisa e a literatura especializada é rica em propostas de soluções para esta questão. Este trabalho apresenta uma proposta teórica de um controle semi-ativo de vibrações em rotores flexíveis usando fios de liga com memória de forma (LMF). O rotor em questão é apoiado sobre dois mancais e um deles é suspenso por fios de LMF, cuja finalidade é promover o amortecimento das vibrações laterais presentes no sistema rotativo decorrentes de forças de perturbação, notadamente das forças de desbalanceamento. O controle proposto tem por objetivo possibilitar a passagem do rotor pelas velocidades críticas, com segurança. / Abstract: Rotational systems are often subjected to external and internal excitations which cause undesired vibrations and risk to the structural integrity of the system and the user's health. In the industrial eld, the vibration attenuation may allow rotating systems more e ciency and safety, making periodical maintenance less frequent and reducing costs. In this context, the vibration control has been a concern for many research centers and the specialized literature is rich in solution proposals for this subject. This study presents a theoretical proposal of a semi-active control of vibrations in exible rotors using shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. The rotor is supported by two bearings and one of them it is suspended by SMA wires to promote attenuation of the lateral vibration present in rotating machines due to disturbance forces, especially unbalancing forces. The proposed theory control has a goal to allow the rotor passing through critical speeds safely. / Mestre

Submitted by Renan Sanches Geronel (renansanches91@gmail.com) on 2018-10-09T17:02:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 geronel_rs_me_ilha.pdf: 5620689 bytes, checksum: 950dc58c8b56a9f24a9a656722b4396d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Cristina Alexandra de Godoy null (cristina@adm.feis.unesp.br) on 2018-10-09T19:55:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 geronel_rs_me_ilha.pdf: 5647462 bytes, checksum: dda190eff69aad90c5113e27f486d1b0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-09T19:55:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 geronel_rs_me_ilha.pdf: 5647462 bytes, checksum: dda190eff69aad90c5113e27f486d1b0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-09-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Os sistemas rotativos estão frequentemente sujeitos a excitações externas e internas que provocam vibrações indesejáveis, colocando em risco a própria integridade estrutural do sistema e até mesmo a saúde dos usuários. No âmbito industrial, por exemplo, a atenuação das vibrações pode permitir aos sistemas rotativos, uma operação mais eficiente e segura, proporcionando manutenções periódicas menos frequentes evitando com isso gastos dispendiosos. Neste contexto, o controle de vibrações tem sido objeto de preocupação de inúmeros centros de pesquisa e a literatura especializada é rica em propostas de soluções para esta questão. Este trabalho apresenta uma proposta teórica de um controle semi-ativo de vibrações em rotores flexíveis usando fios de liga com memória de forma (LMF). O rotor em questão é apoiado sobre dois mancais e um deles é suspenso por fios de LMF, cuja finalidade é promover o amortecimento das vibrações laterais presentes no sistema rotativo decorrentes de forças de perturbação, notadamente das forças de desbalanceamento. O controle proposto tem por objetivo possibilitar a passagem do rotor pelas velocidades críticas, com segurança. / Rotational systems are often subjected to external and internal excitations which cause undesired vibrations and risk to the structural integrity of the system and the user's health. In the industrial eld, the vibration attenuation may allow rotating systems more e ciency and safety, making periodical maintenance less frequent and reducing costs. In this context, the vibration control has been a concern for many research centers and the specialized literature is rich in solution proposals for this subject. This study presents a theoretical proposal of a semi-active control of vibrations in exible rotors using shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. The rotor is supported by two bearings and one of them it is suspended by SMA wires to promote attenuation of the lateral vibration present in rotating machines due to disturbance forces, especially unbalancing forces. The proposed theory control has a goal to allow the rotor passing through critical speeds safely. / CAPES - DS

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-07-26Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:16:17Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 paschoal_ef_me_ilha.pdf: 1666225 bytes, checksum: c8e0ac9ef47b75399e16b35077ba6dac (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo a aplicação da tecnologia de controle semi-ativo em suspensões veiculares, empregando amortecedores magnetoreológicos e controladores nebulosos. O princípio de funcionamento dos amortecedores magnetoreológicos é evidenciado a partir de um procedimento de identificação numérica onde os resultados obtidos pela técnica de modelagem apresentada são confrontados com dados experimentais coletados. O grande avanço experimentado pelos controladores nebulosos nos últimos anos tem aberto novas possibilidades de aplicação prática de tais controladores. O comportamento não linear dos amortecedores magnetoreológicos associado às variações paramétricas e não- linearidades presentes em modelos de suspensões veiculares são características que corroboram para o uso dos controladores nebulosos. A formulação básica para a análise e projeto destes controladores é discutida e analisada através de um conjunto de simulações numéricas efetuado para a avaliação da robustez, estabilidade e desempenho dos mesmos. A bancada experimental, constituída de um sistema de dois graus de liberdade contendo um amortecedor magnetoreológico, é apresentada e tem seus parâmetros principais identificados. Tal bancada é usada para comparar os resultados numéricos simulados com aqueles obtidos experimentalmente. O trabalho termina comentando as potencialidades da metodologia apresentada, discutindo as facilidades e dificuldades encontradas na sua implementação e aponta propostas para a sua continuidade / This work focus on the investigation of semi-active vibration control technology in vehicle suspensions by using magneto-rheological dampers and fuzzy controllers. The operation principle of magneto-rheological dampers is verified by a numerical identification procedure and the results obtained by the presented modeling techniques are compared with the experimental collected data. The great progress tried by the fuzzy controllers in the last years has been opening new possibilities of practical application for these controllers. The non- linear behavior of the magnetorheological dampers associated to the parametric variations and non-linearities on vehicle suspension models corroborate to the use of the fuzzy controllers. The fundamental formulation of this controller is discussed and its robustness, stability and performance are shown through numeric simulations. An experimental apparatus representing a two degree-of-freedom system containing a magnetorheological damper is used to identify the main parameters and to compare the previous simulation results. This work is concluded presenting the potentialities of the design methodology proposed and future developments to be implemented

A utilização de sistemas semi-ativos no controle de movimento e vibração vem crescendo muito nos últimos anos, e está se firmando como a opção mais econômica em muitas aplicações. Os sistemas de controle semi-ativos baseados em fluidos magneto-reológicos (MR) já são empregados no controle de vibrações desde máquinas de lavar a grandes pontes suspensas, e até mesmo no controle de vibração de edifícios sujeitos a abalos sísmicos. No controle de movimento, eles têm sido aplicados em aparelhos de fisioterapia, próteses de joelho humano e embreagens. No setor automobilístico, os sistemas semi-ativos são empregados em sistemas de controle da suspensão e sistemas anti-rolagem, e também no controle de sistemas de torque e tração. Visto a crescente importância dos sistemas de controle semi-ativo, este trabalho aborda este assunto dividindo-o em duas partes: a primeira, apresentada no volume 1, trata do projeto de atuadores magneto-reológicos e do seu modelamento dinâmico voltado para projetos de controle; e a segunda parte, apresentada no volume 2, trata de projeto de controladores para sistemas semi-ativos, mais especificamente voltados para o controle de suspensão veicular semi-ativa, buscando a melhoria do desempenho em conforto, segurança e dirigibilidade do veículo. Na primeira parte, a maior contribuição deste trabalho está em preencher uma lacuna na literatura no que diz respeito a uma técnica sistemática de projeto de atuadores magneto-reológicos e da forma mais adequada de sua representação dinâmica para projetos de controle, que é feita a partir de dados experimentais. Na segunda parte deste trabalho buscou-se desenvolver um sistema de controle economicamente viável para veículos utilitários (caminhonetes principalmente). Estes são os veículos que mais carecem de sistemas de suspensão capazes de atender a uma grande variedade de situações (variação de pista, variação de carga), e cujo mercado exige uma relação custo/benefício melhor que aquela dos mercados de carros de luxo, onde estes sistemas são empregados atualmente. Como resultados mais importantes deste trabalho têmse: uma proposição para o uso da lei de controle LQG/LTR em sistemas não estritamente próprios; um modelo de um veículo utilitário completo com sete graus de liberdade e capaz de representar as situações mais importantes do comportamento dinâmico deste tipo de veículo; o desenvolvimento de uma estratégia de controle robusto baseado na técnica LQG/LTR, adequada para trabalhar com atuadores semi-ativos, e que utiliza sensores de custo compatível com a aplicação. O sistema de controle proposto foi capaz de melhorar o desempenho em conforto e segurança, evitando situações de perda de aderência dos pneus e comportamentos dinâmicos indesejáveis destes veículos, que foi verificado experimentalmente e através de simulações em computador. / The application of semi-active systems to motion and vibration control has significantly grown during the last years, and it is becoming an economically viable option for several applications. Semi-active systems based on magneto-rheological (MR) fluids were applied to vibration control ranging from washing machines to suspended bridges, and also in vibration control of buildings under seismic tremors. Regarding the movement control, they have been used in gym apparati, human knee prosthesis and clutches. More specifically in the automotive industry, semi-active systems have been applied in suspension and anti-roll systems, and also in torque and traction control systems. This work treats this subject dividing it into two parts: the first one, presented in volume 1, deals with the design of semi-active actuators based on magneto-rheological fluids and dynamic modeling; and the second one, presented in volume 2, deals with the design of semi-active control for vehicular suspension systems. The control main objective is the performance improvement in comfort, safety and handling features of a vehicle. In the first part, the main contribution of this work is to fulfill a literature gap regarding a systematic procedure for design of magneto-rheological actuators and to find a better representation for the dynamic behavior regarding the control system development, which is done based on experimental data analysis. The second part of this work leaded with the development of a vehicular suspension system for utility vehicles (for SUVs, and mainly for light trucks), which need suspension systems able to face a great number of situations (road variation, load variation, etc.), and which present stability problems due to its high gravity center height. Important results of this work are: the development of a robust control strategy based on LQG/LTR techniques for non-strictly proper systems, the development of a dynamic model for light trucks and SUVs with seven degrees of freedom; the development of a robust control strategy based on the LQG/LTR synthesis, suit to work with semi-active actuators, and using sensors with costs compatible to the application. The proposed control system was able to improve the performance of comfort and safety, avoiding the loss of adherence between tires and the ground and other undesirable dynamic behaviors of these vehicles, that was verified experimentally and through computer simulations.

Today, Sport Utility Vehicles are marketed as both on-road and off-road vehicles. This results in a compromise when designing the suspension of the vehicle. If the suspension characteristics are fixed, the vehicle cannot have good handling capabilities on highways and good ride comfort over rough terrain. The rollover propensity of this type of vehicle compared to normal cars is high because it has a combination of a high centre of gravity and a softer suspension. The 4 State Semi-active Suspension System (4S4) that can switch between two discrete spring characteristics as well as two discrete damper characteristics, has been proven to overcome this compromise. The soft suspension setting (soft spring and low damping) is used for ride comfort, while the hard suspension setting (stiff spring and high damping) is used for handling. The following question arises: when is which setting most appropriate? The two main contributing factors are the terrain profile and the driver’s actions. Ride comfort is primarily dependant on the terrain that the vehicle is travelling over. If the terrain can be identified, certain driving styles can be expected for that specific environment. The terrains range from rough and uncomfortable to smooth with high speed manoeuvring. Terrain classification methods are proposed and tested with measured data from the test vehicle on known terrain types. Good results were obtained from the terrain classification methods. Five terrain types were accurately identified from over an hour’s worth of vehicle testing. Handling manoeuvres happen unexpectedly, often to avoid an accident. To improve the handling and therefore safety of the vehicle, the 4S4 can be switched to the hard suspension setting, which results in a reduced body roll angle. This decision should be made quickly with the occupants’ safety as the priority. Methods were investigated that will determine when to switch the suspension to the handling mode based on the kinematics of the vehicle. The switching strategies proposed in this study have the potential, with a little refinement, to make the ride versus handling decision correctly. Copyright 2007, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Bester, R 2007, The ride comfort versus handling decision for off-road vehicles, MEng dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10252007-111611 / > / Dissertation (MEng (Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / unrestricted

Modern lower limb prostheses are devices that replace missing limbs, making it possible for lower limb amputees to walk again. Most commercially available prosthetic limbs lack intelligence and passive adaptive capabilities, and none available can adapt on a step by step basis. Often, amputees experience a loss of terrain adaptability as well as stability, leaving the amputee with a severely altered gait. This work is focused on the development of a semi-active damping system for use in intelligent terrain adaptive ankle prostheses. The system designed consists of an optimized hydraulic cylinder with an electronic servo valve which throttles the hydraulic fluid flowing between the cylinder’s chambers, acting on the prosthesis joint with a moment arm in series with a carbon spring foot. This provides the capability to absorb energy during the amputees gait cycle in a controlled manner, effectively allowing the passive dynamic response to be greatly altered continuously by leveraging a small energy source. A virtual simulation of an amputee gait cycle with the adaptive semi-active ankle design revealed the potential to replicate adaptive abilities of the human ankle. The results showed very similarly that irregularities in amputee biomechanics can be greatly compensated for using semi-active damping.

Tyre wear is a vital problem in vehicles, especially in articulated vehicles because of their heavier axle loads. Tyre wear can not only do harm to vehicle dynamics but also cause tyre particle emissions. Therefore, solutions that can minimise tyre wear are where this thesis work focuses. The suspension design is one of the main factors affecting tyre wear. This thesis considers different kinds of semi-active (such as ADD, SH-2 and GH-2) and active suspensions (\(H_\infty\) control) and compares them with a passive suspension with regards to tyre wear. Driving comfort and road holding are considered as well. The simulation starts by running a IPG/TruckMaker model on a route introducing a certain road roughness profile, and outputs lateral slip angles, which together with vehicle parameters and route data are input into a Simulink model. Then, based on the static vertical load on each axles of the articulated vehicle, three different quarter car models corresponding to the axles with various suspension systems are built in Simulink. Simulation results show that the active suspension (\(H_\infty\) control approach) works best in minimising tyre wear, reducing tyre wear by 1-10\% compared to the passive suspension when the vehicle is driving on road profile Class C (country road). Meanwhile, several control strategies of \(H_\infty\) control are applied in order to result in overall good vehicle performance considering comfort and road holding. Semi-active suspensions also work well in reducing tyre wear, but the amount of tyre wear reduction is lower than that of the \(H_\infty\) controllers. / Däckslitage är ett viktigt problem för fordon, särskilt för tunga ledade fordon på grund av deras högre axellaster. Däckets slitage påverkar inte bara fordonets dynamik utan orsakar också utsläpp av däckpartiklar. Olika lösningar behöver utvecklas som kan minimera däckslitage och det är fokus för detta examensarbete. Hjulupphängningens konstruktion är en viktig faktor som påverkar däckslitaget. Detta arbete studerar olika typer av semiaktiva (såsom ADD, SH-2 och GH-2) och aktiva fjädringssystem (\(H_\infty\) reglering) och jämför dem med ett passivt fjädringssystem när det gäller däckslitage, samtidigt som även körkomfort och väghållning beaktas. Simuleringarna inleds med att en IPG/TruckMaker fordonsmodell kör längs en sträcka med en viss typ av vägojämnhet. Simuleringarna resulterar i avdriftsvinklar för fordonet som tillsammans med fordonsparametrar och ruttinformation skapar indata till en Simulink-modell. Därefter, baserat på den statiska vertikala belastningen på varje axel i det ledade fordonet, skapas tre olika kvartsbilsmodeller i Simulink som motsvarar axlarna med deras olika hjulupphängningssystem.Simuleringsresultaten visar att den aktiva fjädringen (\(H_\infty\)) fungerar bäst när det gäller att minimera däckslitage, där slitaget minskar med 1-10\% jämfört med den passiva fjädringen när fordonet kör på vägprofil klass C (landsväg). Samtidigt tillämpas flera olika \(H_\infty\) reglerstrategier för att åstadkomma överlag goda fordonsprestanda även med avseende på komfort och väghållning. Semiaktiva fjädringssystem fungerar också bra för att minska däckslitaget, men minskningen av slitaget är lägre än den för den aktiva \(H_\infty\) fjädringen.

This study of adaptable vibration isolating mounts sets out to capture the uniqueness of magnetorheological (MR) fluid's variable viscosity rate, and to physically alter the damping and stiffness when used inside an elastomeric mount. Apparent variable viscosity or rheology of the MR fluid has dependency on the application of a magnetic field. Therefore, this study also intends to look at the design of a compact magnetic field generator which magnetizes the MR fluid to activate different stiffness and damping levels within the isolator to create an adaptable and tunable feature. To achieve this adaptable isolator mount, a mold will be fabricated to construct the mounts. A process will then be devised to manufacture the mounts and place MR fluid inside the mount for later compatibility with the magnetic field generator. This process will then produce an MR fluid-elastic mount. Additionally for comparative purposes, passive mounts will be manufactured with a soft rubber casing and an assortment of metal and non-metal inserts. Next, the design of the magnetic field generator will be modeled using FEA magnetic software and then constructed. Stiffness or force/displacement measurements will then be analyzed from testing the isolator mount and magnetic field generator on a state-of-the-art vibration dynamometer. To vary the magnetic flux through the mount, an electro-magnet is used. To analyze the results, a frequency method of the stiffness will be used to show the isolators adaptation to various increments of magnetic flux over the sinusoidal input displacement frequencies. This frequency response of the stiffness will then be converted into a modeling technique to capture the essence of the dynamics from activating the MR fluid within the isolator mount. With this methodology for studying the adaptability of an MR fluid-elastic mount, the stiffness increases are dependent on the level of magnetic field intensity provided from the supplied electro-magnet. When the electro-magnet current supply is increased from 0.0 to 2.0 Amps, the mount stiffness magnitude increase is 78% in one of the MR fluid-elastic mounts. Through comparison, this MR fluid-elastic mount at off-state with zero magnetic field is similar to a mount made of solid rubber with a hardness of 30 Shore A. With 2 Amps of current, however, the MR fluid-elastic mount has a higher stiffness magnitude than a rubber mount and resembles a rubber casing with a steel insert. Moreover, when the current in the electro-magnet is increased from 0.0 to 2.0 Amps the equivalent damping coefficient in a MR fluid-elastic mount increases over 500% of the value at 0 Amps at low frequency. Through damping comparisons, the MR fluid-elastic mount with no current is similar to that of a mount made of solid rubber with a hardness of 30 Shore A. At full current in the electromagnet, however, the damping in the MR fluid-elastic mount is greater than any of the comparative mounts in this study. Therefore, the results show that the MR fluid-elastic mount can provide a wide range of stiffness and damping variation for real-time embedded applications. Since many aerospace and automotive applications use passive isolators as engine mounts in secondary suspensions to reduce transmitted forces at cruise speed, the MR fluid-elastic mount could be substituted to reduce transmitted forces over a wider range of speeds. Additionally, this compact MR fluid-elastic mount system could be easily adapted to many packaging constraints in those applications. / Master of Science