Kum-Gil Sung

Discrete-time fuzzy sliding mode control for a vehicle suspension system featuring an electrorheological fluid damper

This paper presents real-time control characteristics of an electrorheological (ER) suspension system via a fuzzy sliding mode control algorithm which is formulated in a discrete-time manner by considering the sampling rate of an electronic control unit for a vehicle system. A quarter-vehicle system consisting of sprung mass, spring, tire and a cylindrical ER damper (shock absorber) is constructed for the real-time control. After deriving the governing equation of motion of the proposed system, a discrete-time control model with system uncertainties is formulated. A stable sliding surface is then designed and followed by the formulation of the discrete-time sliding mode controller which consists of a discontinuous part and an equivalent part. In the controller formulation, the fuzzy control algorithm is also adopted to enhance system robustness to the mass variation and reaching time to the sliding surface. The controller is then experimentally realized for the manufactured quarter-vehicle ER suspension system. Control performances such as vertical acceleration are evaluated under various road conditions and presented in both time and frequency domains.

Force Feedback Control of a Medical Haptic Master using an Electrorheological Fluid

This study presents force feedback control performance of a spherical haptic device featuring an electrorheological (ER) fluid that can be used for minimally invasive surgery (MIS). As a first step, a spherical ER joint composed of rotational and stationary electrodes is designed and optimized based on mathematical torque modeling. The active force produced in MIS is generally small, even though the passive force is large. In order to meet this agreement, both clutch and brake mechanism are adopted for the ER joint. In this operation, the active (small) force feedback by the rotational electrodes and/or semi-active (large) force feedback are achieved by the stationary electrode. Subsequently, the master device is manufactured by integration of the spherical ER joint with AC motor. In order to achieve desired force trajectories, a sliding mode controller, which is robust to uncertainty, is formulated by considering mechanical friction and hysteretic behavior of the ER fluid as uncertainty. The controller is then experimentally realized. Tracking control performances for various force trajectories are presented in time domain.

Road test evaluation of vibration control performance of vehicle suspension featuring electrorheological shock absorbers

Abstract This work presents road test results for vibration control of a vehicle suspension system equipped with continuously controllable electrorheological (ER) shock absorbers. The test vehicle is a mid-sized passenger car whose suspension systems are typical Macpherson strut types for the front part and multilink types for the rear part. The four ER shock absorbers (two for the front suspension and two for the rear suspension) are devised based on design specifications for the test vehicle and their damping forces are experimentally evaluated with respect to the electric field. The ER shock absorbers and conventional spring elements are then assembled into suspension systems. Prior to undertaking the road test, the front ER suspension is applied to the quarter-car facility in order to validate control performance of the skyhook controller embedded in on-chip hardware. Subsequently, the full-vehicle model incorporating four ER suspensions is established and the skyhook control gains are determined in an optimal manner. The controller is then implemented on the test vehicle which is equipped with several sensors, a data acquisition system, and high-voltage amplifiers. Control performances are evaluated under various road conditions (bump, long waved, rugged, paved, and unpaved) and presented in both time and frequency domains.

Effect of an electromagnetically optimized magnetorheological damper on vehicle suspension control performance

Abstract This paper examines the effect of an electromagnetically optimized magnetorheological (MR) damper for vehicle suspension on vibration control performance. In order to achieve this goal, a cylindrical MR damper that satisfies design specifications for a middle-sized commercial passenger vehicle is designed using an optimization methodology. The optimization problem is to find the optimal geometric dimensions of the electromagnetic circuit for the MR damper in order to maximize the damping force. A first-order optimization method using commercial finite element method (FEM) software is adopted for the constrained optimization algorithm. After manufacturing the MR damper with optimally obtained design parameters, its field-dependent characteristics are experimentally evaluated. The effect of the optimal MR damper on suspension control is then investigated using a quarter-vehicle test facility. Control performances such as vertical acceleration, suspension travel, and power consumption are evaluated and compared between the initial and optimal dampers. In addition, vibration control performances of the optimal MR damper are experimentally evaluated under bump and random road conditions and presented in both time and frequency domains.

PERFORMANCE COMPARISON OF MR DAMPERS WITH THREE DIFFERENT WORKING MODES: SHEAR, FLOW AND MIXED MODE

In this work, three different magneto-rheological(MR) dampers, which are applicable for vibration control of a multi-story structure, are devised and their performance characteristics are compared. As a first step, the schematic configurations of the shear, flow, and mixed mode MR dampers are described with design constraints. The analytical models to predict the field-dependent damping forces are derived for each type and their damping forces are evaluated. The field-dependent damping forces are compared in terms of the damping force magnitude and the mixed-mode type of MR damper is chosen as an optimal candidate for the vibration control of the multi-story structure. An appropriate size of the mixed mode MR damper is manufactured and its field-dependent damping characteristics are evaluated in time domain. In addition, the displacement vs. damping force cycles of the piston are observed at various field intensities.

Optimal Design of Magnetorheological Shock Absorbers for Passenger Vehicle via Finite Element Method

This paper presents optimal design of controllable magnetorheological(MR) shock absorbers for passenger vehicle. In order to achieve this goal, two MR shock absorbers (one for front suspension; one for rear suspension) are designed using an optimization methodology based on design specifications for a commercial passenger vehicle. The optimization problem is to find optimal geometric dimensions of the magnetic circuits for the front and rear MR shock absorbers in order to improve the performance such as damping force as an objective function. The first order optimization method using commercial finite element method(FEM) software is adopted for the constrained optimization algorithm. After manufacturing the MR shock absorbers with optimally obtained design parameters, their field-dependent damping forces are experimentally evaluated and compared with those of conventional shock absorbers. In addition, vibration control performances of the full-vehicle installed with the proposed MR shock absorbers are evaluated under bump road condition and obstacle avoidance test.

The braking performance of a vehicle anti-lock brake system featuring an electro-rheological valve pressure modulator

This paper presents the braking performances of a vehicle anti-lock brake system (ABS) featuring an electro-rheological (ER) valve pressure modulator. As a first step, the principal design parameters of the ER valve and hydraulic booster are appropriately determined by considering the Bingham property of the ER fluid and the braking pressure variation during the ABS operation. An ER fluid composed of chemically treated starch particles and silicone oil is used. An electrically controllable pressure modulator is then constructed and its pressure controllability is empirically evaluated. Subsequently, a quarter-car wheel slip model is established and integrated with the governing equation of the pressure modulator. A sliding mode controller for slip rate control is designed and implemented via the hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS). In order to demonstrate the superior braking performance of the proposed ABS, a full car model is derived and a sliding mode controller is formulated to achieve the desired yaw rate. The braking performances in terms of braking distance and step input steering are evaluated and presented in time domain through full car simulations.

Accurate position tracking control of a moving stage using an electrorheological fluid clutch

Accurate position trajectory control of a moving stage is undertaken by utilizing an electrorheological (ER) fluid clutch. A new type of bi-directional ER clutch is devised and its field-dependent torque transmission is empirically evaluated. A sliding mode controller integrated with a full-order observer is formulated to achieve position tracking of the moving stage. In order to compensate for nonlinear friction components, the sliding mode controller is augmented with a feedback friction compensator. In the synthesis of the controller, the variation of moment of inertia of the moving stage is treated as a parameter variation to guarantee robustness of control. The proposed control system is experimentally realized, and tracking control responses for step and sinusoidal trajectories are evaluated in the time domain.

Controllable Haptic Knob for Vehicle Instrument Using MR Fluids

The paper presents control performance of a magnetorheological(MR) fluid-based haptic knob which is applicable to in-vehicle comfort functions. As a first step, MR fluid-based haptic knob is devised to be capable of both rotary and push motions with a single device. Under consideration of spatial limitation, design parameters are optimally determined to minimize a reciprocal of control torque using finite element analysis. The proposed haptic knob is then manufactured and its field-dependent torque is experimentally evaluated. Subsequently, in-vehicle comfort functions are constructed in virtual environment and make them communicate with the haptic knob. Control performances such as reflection force are experimentally evaluated via simple feed-forward control strategy.

Maneuver Analysis of Full-vehicle Featuring Electrorheological Suspension and Electrorheological Brake

This paper presents a maneuver analysis of a full-vehicle featuring electrorheological(ER) suspension and ER brake. In order to achieve this goal, an ER damper and an ER valve pressure modulator are devised to construct ER suspension and ER brake systems, respectively. After formulating the governing equations of the ER damper and ER valve pressure modulator, they are designed and manufactured for a middle-sized passenger vehicle, and their field-dependent characteristics are experimentally evaluated. The governing equation of motion for the full-vehicle is then established and integrated with the governing equations of the ER suspension and ER brake. Subsequently, a sky-hook controller for the ER suspension and a sliding mode controller for the ER brake are formulated and implemented. Control performances such as vertical displacement and braking distance of vehicle are evaluated under various driving conditions through computer simulations.