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INTRODUCTION
Traditionally automotive suspension designs have been compromise between the three conflicting criteria’s namely road handling, load carrying, and passenger comfort. The suspension system must support the vehicle, provide directional control using handling maneuvers and provide effective isolation of passengers and load disturbance. Good ride comfort requires a soft suspension, where as insensitivity to apply loads require stiff suspension. Good handling requires a suspension setting somewhere between it. Due to these conflicting demands, suspension design has to be something that can compromise of these two problems.
Active suspension system has the ability to response to the vertical changes in the road input. The damper or spring is interceding by the force actuator. This force actuator has it own task which is to add or dissipate energy from the system. The force actuator is control by various types of controller determine by the designer. The correct control strategy will give better compromise between comfort and vehicle stability. Therefore active suspension system offer better riding comfort and vehicle handling to the passengers. Figure 1.3 shows simple block diagram to explain how the active suspension can achieve better performance. Figure

describe basic component of active suspension. In this type of suspension the controller can modify the system dynamics by activating the actuators. 






All these three types of suspension systems have it own advantages and disadvantages. However researchers are focus on the active car suspension and it is because the performance obtained is better than the other two types of suspension systems as mentioned before. For example the passive suspension system the design is fix depend on the goal of the suspension. The passive suspension is an open loop control system. It doesn’t have any feedback signal to correct the error. It means that the suspension system will not give optimal ride comfort. In other side which is active suspension, it has that ability to give ride comfort. This is happen by having force actuator control by the controller. The active suspension system is a close loop control system. It will correct the error and gave the output to the desired level. In this project observation will be made at the vertical acceleration of the vehicle body called sprung mass and tire deflection. By using the right control strategy the ride quality and handling performance can be optimize. Therefore, in this project there
will be modeling for active and passive suspension only.



·      Active Suspension

Ø COMPONENTS


1.    A Computer or an electronic control unit (ECU)

Short for Electronic Control Unit, the ECU is a name given to a device that controls one or more electrical systems in a vehicle. It operates much like the BIOS does in a computer. The ECU provides instructions for various electrical systems, instructing them on what to do and how to operate. Below are two pictures of what an ECU might look like, depending on the vehicle. 
There are a number of different types of ECUs, including an Engine Control Module (ECM), Powertrain Control Module (PCM), Brake Control Module (BCM), General Electric Module (GEM) and others. Newer vehicles can have as many as 80 ECUs and due to their increasing complexity, the programming involved in developing the ECUs is becoming more challenging to maintain.

  


2.    SENSORS

Linear acceleration sensors, also called G-force sensors, are devices that measure Acceleration caused by movement, vibration, collision, etc. All acceleration sensors operate based on a simple principle in which Newton's second law of motion is applied to a spring-mass system. A mass is connected to the base of the acceleration sensor through an equivalent spring. Since the force between the mass and base is proportional to the acceleration of the mass and the relative distance between them has a linear relationship with the force due to the spring, the acceleration can be calculated from a measurement of the relative position of the mass or force on the spring as it varies with time. Generally, the most common types of acceleration sensors include: piezoelectric, piezoresistive, variable capacitance and variable reluctance.

Automotive Applications of Acceleration Sensors:
  • Collision detection and airbag deployment: To measure intensity of collision and signal to initiate airbag deployment.
  • Electronics stability programs and control: Measures acceleration along various axes, (e.g. forward, braking and cornering accelerations, to compute relative movements and regulate them).
  • Antilock braking systems.
  • Active suspension systems: Measures longitudinal and lateral accelerations as well as vehicle roll characteristics to change damper characteristics accordingly.
  • Hill descent/hold control: Measures vehicle inclination and speed to regulate system.
  • Monitoring Noise,Vibration and Harshness.
  • Vehicle navigation systems to determining vehicle location, speed, etc.


  
3.    ACTUATOR OR SERVO

servomechanism, sometimes shortened to servo, is an automatic device that uses error-sensing negative feedback to correct the performance of a mechanism and is defined by its function. It usually includes a built-in encoder. A servomechanism is sometimes called a heterostat since it controls a system's behavior by means of  heterostasis. The term correctly applies only to systems where the feedback or error-correction signals help control mechanical position, speed or other parameters. For example, an automotive power window control is not a servomechanism, as there is no automatic feedback that controls position—the operator does this by observation. By contrast a car's cruise control uses closed loop feedback, which classifies it as a servomechanism.
Uses
Position control
A common type of servo provides position control. Servos are commonly electrical or partially electronic in nature, using an electric motor as the primary means of creating mechanical force. Other types of servos use hydraulicspneumatics, or magnetic principles. Servos operate on the principle of negative feedback, where the control input is compared to the actual position of the mechanical system as measured by some sort oftransducer at the output. Any difference between the actual and wanted values (an "error signal") is amplified (and converted) and used to drive the system in the direction necessary to reduce or eliminate the error. This procedure is one widely used application of control theory.
Speed control
Speed control via a governor is another type of servomechanism. The steam engine uses mechanical governors; another early application was to govern the speed of water wheels. Prior to World War II the constant speed propeller was developed to control engine speed for maneuvering aircraft. Fuel controls for gas turbine engines employ either hydromechanical or electronic governing.
Other
Positioning servomechanisms were first used in military fire-control and marine navigation equipment. Today servomechanisms are used in automatic machine tools, satellite-tracking antennas, remote control airplanes, automatic navigation systems on boats and planes, and antiaircraft-gun control systems. Other examples are fly-by-wire systems inaircraft which use servos to actuate the aircraft's control surfaces, and radio-controlled models which use RC servos for the same purpose. Many autofocus cameras also use a servomechanism to accurately move the lens, and thus adjust the focus. A modern hard disk drive has a magnetic servo system with sub-micrometre positioning accuracy. In industrial machines, servos are used to perform complex motion, in many applications.

  

4.    ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS AND SPRINGS


A shock absorber (in reality, a shock "damper") is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energyof the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. A shock absorber is a type of dashpot.

Description
Pneumatic and hydraulic shock absorbers are used in conjunction with cushions and springs. An automobile shock absorber contains spring-loaded check valves and orifices to control the flow of oil through an internal piston (see below).[1]
One design consideration, when designing or choosing a shock absorber, is where that energy will go. In most shock absorbers, energy is converted to heat inside the viscous fluid. In hydraulic cylinders, the hydraulic fluid heats up, while in air cylinders, the hot air is usually exhausted to the atmosphere. In other types of shock absorbers, such as electromagnetic types, the dissipated energy can be stored and used later. In general terms, shock absorbers help cushion vehicles on uneven roads.
Vehicle suspension
In a vehicle, shock absorbers reduce the effect of traveling over rough ground, leading to improved ride quality and vehicle handling. While shock absorbers serve the purpose of limiting excessive suspension movement, their intended sole purpose is to damp spring oscillations. Shock absorbers use valving of oil and gasses to absorb excess energy from the springs. Spring rates are chosen by the manufacturer based on the weight of the vehicle, loaded and unloaded. Some people use shocks to modify spring rates but this is not the correct use. Along with hysteresis in the tire itself, they damp the energy stored in the motion of the unsprung weight up and down. Effective wheel bounce damping may require tuning shocks to an optimal resistance.
Spring-based shock absorbers commonly use coil springs or leaf springs, though torsion bars are used in torsional shocks as well. Ideal springs alone, however, are not shock absorbers, as springs only store and do not dissipate or absorb energy. Vehicles typically employ both hydraulic shock absorbers and springs or torsion bars. In this combination, "shock absorber" refers specifically to the hydraulic piston that absorbs and dissipates vibration.

 

Features & Benefits

·         Some shock absorbers allow tuning of the ride via control of the valve by a manual adjustment provided at the shock absorber.
·         In more expensive vehicles the valves may be remotely adjustable, offering the driver control of the ride at will while the vehicle is operated.
·         The ultimate control is provided by dynamic valve control via computer in response to sensors, giving both a smooth ride and a firm suspension when needed.
which allow ride height adjustment or even ride height control, seen in some large trucks    and luxury sedans, including Lincoln and Land Rover automobiles.
·         Ride height control is especially desirable in highway vehicles intended for occasional rough road use, as a means of improving handling and reducing aerodynamic drag by lowering the vehicle when operating on improved high speed roads, as seen in the Tesla Model S.

  


Ø How it works

 The Active Suspension consists of three masses. Each mass slides along stainless steel shafts using linear bearings and is supported by a set of springs. The upper mass is known as the sprung mass. The middle mass corresponds to one of the vehicle’s tires, or the un-sprung mass. The upper mass and Lower mass is connected to a controller as shown, also the sensors and actuators are connected to the controller. Controller gathers all the measures and control pressure control source to control the adjustable suspension through the hydraulic or pneumatic valves. This system is optimizing the various suspension performance parameters which include:

ü Ride Comfort - is related to vehicle body motion sensed by the passengers. It can be measured using either the accelerometer that is mounted on the top plate, or the encoder (for a direct position measurement).

ü Suspension Travel - refers to relative displacement between the vehicle body and the tire and is constrained within an allowable range of motion. This can be measured using the suspension encoder that is mounted on the capstan.
ü Road Handling - is associated with the contact forces between the road surface and the vehicle tires and depends on tire deflection. Tire deflection is the relative displacement between the tire and the road and it can be measured using all the encoders.




FEATURES

• Heavy-duty and robust machine components
• Three high resolution encoders used to measure positions of bottom and top masses as well as suspension deflection
• 226 W MICROMO brushless DC motor connected to capstan for active suspension control
• 70 W Magmotor brushed DC motor connected to belt-drive mechanism for road actuation
• Adjustable weight and spring stiffness
• Accelerometer measurements as sensory input
• Responsive belt-drive mechanism to simulate the road suface
• Accelerometer mounted on top plate to measure vehicle body acceleration
• Multi-coloured masses for distinction (vehicle body in blue, vehicle wheel in red and the road suface in silver)
• Limit switch and protection circuit
• Fully documented system models and parameters
• Open architecture



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