Hydro-gas suspension system for a tracked vehicle: Modeling and analysis

Tracked vehicles fitted with torsion bar suspensions are limited in their ability to achieve high mobility. This limitation is due to the linear characteristics and the consequent poorer ride performance. Hydro-gas suspensions due to their inherent non-linear behavior can provide higher mobility and better ride comfort performance. The hydro-gas suspension model has usually been developed from experimental force-displacement characteristics, which requires availability of suspension hardware.In this paper, a hydro-gas suspension system is modeled using polytropic gas compression model to represent the spring characteristics, while the damper orifices are modeled using hydraulic conductance. The analytical model is then validated with experiments individually for spring and damper flow characteristics and then as a suspension-wheel assembly in a test rig. The validated suspension model is incorporated in an in-plane model. Using this model, simulation is carried out for sinusoidal inputs of different wavelengths, amplitudes and vehicle speeds. The simulation model is validated with data measured on a vehicle traversing an APG course. The proposed model agrees very well with the measured data. Based on the validated model, studies on the influence of suspension parameters on the ride comfort of a tracked vehicle are carried out.     

Ride quality analysis of a tracked vehicle suspension with a preview control

The feasibility of a preview control is examined for tracked vehicle’s suspension systems to improve the performance of tracked vehicle systems. Numerical results are compared with LQ, robust H_∞, reference model tracking and hybrid preview control methods. The ride quality analysis is performed based on the vertical acceleration at the driver’s position. On the simulations, it is proven that the hybrid preview controller is the most efficient and practical method.     

Assessment of tracked vehicle suspension system using a validated computer simulation model

A non-linear, in-plane computer simulation model of a typical high-mobility tracked vehicle is developed for suspension dynamic analysis and ride quality assessment. The Langrangian model formulation of the tracked vehicle is derived considering an arbitrary rigid terrain profile and constant vehicle speed. The model incorporates detailed representations of a trailing arm suspension system and dynamic wheel-track-terrain interactions. The computer model predictions are validated against field measurements, which were gathered from tests of an armoured personnel carrier traversing a discrete half-round bump and a random course. A parametric sensitivity analysis was carried out using the validated computer model in order to assess the influence of conventional suspension parameters on the ride performance of the test vehicle. In addition, the ride performance potentials of an alternate hydrogas suspension configuration were investigated.     

Ride dynamics mathematical model for a single station representation of tracked vehicle

Tracked vehicles are exposed to severe ride environment due to dynamic terrain-vehicle interactions. Hence it is essential to understand the vibration levels transmitted to the vehicle, as it negotiates different types of terrains at different speeds. The present study is focused on the development of single station representation of tracked vehicles with trailing arm hydro-gas suspension systems, simulating the ride dynamics. The kinematics of hydro-gas suspension system have been derived in order to determine the non-linear stiffness characteristics at various charging pressures. Then, incorporating the actual suspension kinematics, non-linear governing equations of motion have been derived for the sprung and unsprung masses and solved by coding in Matlab. Effect of suspension non-linear dynamics on the single station ride vibrations have been analyzed and validated with a multi-body dynamics model developed using MSC.ADAMS. The above mathematical models would help in estimating the ride vibration levels of the tracked vehicle, negotiating different types of terrains at various speeds and also enable the designers to fine-tune the suspension characteristics such that the ride vibrations are within acceptable limits. The mathematical ride model would also assist in development of non-linear ride vibration model of full tracked vehicle and estimate the sprung mass dynamics.     

Bifurcation of piecewise-linear nonlinear vibration system of vehicle suspension

A kinetic model of the piecewise-linear nonlinear suspension system that consists of a dominant spring and an assistant spring is established. Bifurcation of the resonance solution to a suspension system with two degrees of freedom is investigated with the singularity theory. Transition sets of the system and 40 groups of bifurcation diagrams are obtained. The local bifurcation is found, and shows the overall character- istics of bifurcation. Based on the. relationship between parameters and the topological bifurcation solutions, motion characteristics with different parameters are obtained. The results provides a theoretical basis for the optimal control of vehicle suspension system parameters.     

On the Control of the Friction Force

This paper tackles the problem of controlling the Coulomb friction force in order to achieve damping characteristics which can be advantageous in engineering applications, particularly in the area of vibration control, for example, vehicle suspensions, rotating machinery foundations or earthquake protection systems. The control schemes employed belong to the family of variable structure controllers (VSC), a class of robust control algorithms, namely sliding mode control (SMC) and switched state feedback (SSF). The schemes perform force tracking control, aiming at making the friction force track a reference force in order to reduce the acceleration experienced by a suspended mass. The plant investigated is a 2-degree of freedom system and in this study represents a quarter car. The controller performances are investigated both numerically and experimentally.     

Effectiveness evaluation of hydro-pneumatic and semi-active cab suspension for the improvement of ride comfort of agricultural tractors

Advances have been made to agricultural tractors to improve their ride comfort. However, the ride comfort of tractors is relatively low compared to that of passenger vehicles. Many researchers have developed various types of suspension for tractors. While most studies have focused on the geometry of the suspension, few studies have been carried out on the development of a control algorithm for tractor suspension.In this paper, to improve the ride comfort of an agricultural tractor, a hydro-pneumatic suspension model with a semi-active suspension control is developed with computer simulation, and the effectiveness of the suspension is evaluated before the vehicle is equipped with the suspension and placed into production.An optimal control algorithm for the semi-active suspension of the tractor is developed using a linear quadratic Gaussian. In the simulation, a hydro-pneumatic suspension system model is developed using SimulationX and is applied to a full vehicle model using MATLAB/Simulink. The suspension is assessed by experiments and simulations. The ride comfort using the ride comfort index according to ISO 2631 is evaluated by comparing a vehicle with a passive cab suspension to that with a hydro-pneumatic suspension applied with the semi-active control.     

Numerical analysis to predict turning characteristics of rigid suspension tracked vehicle

Numerical analysis was developed to calculate the steering properties of a rigid suspension tracked vehicle turning on soft terrain. The developed numerical analysis is based on a method to solve a set of non-linear equations. To verify the numerical analysis, an experiment on a model-tracked vehicle turning with a steering ratio of 1.6 on a loose sandy terrain was carried out. The comparison between measured and calculated values shows that the numerical analysis can predict sinkage, slip ratios and turning radius within an error amount of 15%.     

Safety and comfort analysis of a 3-D vehicle model with optimal non-linear active seat suspension

A generalized nonlinear model is formulated for the dynamic analysis of suspension seats with passive, semi-active and active dampers. The model incorporates coulomb friction due to suspension linkages and bushings, forces arising from interactions with the elastic limit stops, a linear suspension spring and nonlinear damping force for passive, semi-active and active dampers, while the contribution due to biodynamics of the human operator is considered to be negligible. The semi-active and active dampers are characterized by force generators in accordance with the control laws based upon suspension mass velocity. Two different suspension seats are experimentally assessed in the laboratory under sinusoidal and random excitations arising from an urban bus, and the measured data is used to demonstrate the validity of the proposed generalized model. The results showed reasonably good agreement between the model results and the measured data. Optimal model parameters are selected using the sequential unconstrained minimization technique with an objective to minimize the acceleration due to vibration transmitted to the occupant mass. The comfort and safety performance characteristics of the optimal suspension seat with semi-active and active dampers are evaluated under both the sinusoidal and random excitations based on the guidelines provided by ISO-2631. From these results, it is concluded that the comfort performance of a suspension seat with semi-active and active dampers can be considerably enhanced by 20–30%.     

考虑主动时滞的汽车悬架系统控制特性研究

以汽车悬架系统为研究对象,采用理论和试验相结合的方法对考虑主动时滞的悬架系统控制特性进行分析。首先建立含时滞悬架系统动力学模型,分析系统的控制稳定性。理论和仿真结果均表明,采用传统二次型最优控制律不能保证含时滞系统的稳定性。系统时滞量存在稳定区间,时滞超出稳定区间时系统将失稳发散;为了保证控制系统的稳定性,采用状态变换法设计了含时滞系统的主动控制律,计算表明,该控制律可以保证系统稳定性。研究还发现,时滞量的变化会使系统振动幅值产生较大改变,为此在控制系统中引入主动时滞,研究主动时滞对系统振动特性的影响,计算表明,合理的主动时滞可以降低系统振动幅值;为验证结果的正确性,搭建了悬架时滞主动控制试验平台,通过对相同工况下仿真结果与试验结果进行对比,发现两者具有较好的一致性;而由于悬架受到的路面激励具有随机性,采用含时滞系统的主动控制律对路面随机激励下的悬架系统进行控制分析,发现当主动时滞为0.04 s时,车身加速度均方根值比无主动时滞降低了39.4%,说明主动时滞对悬架控制的有效性。本文研究对时滞主动控制的理论研究具有重要的促进作用。     

Semi-active rotary damper for a heavy off-road wheeled vehicle

The development, simulation and laboratory testing of two-state discrete adjustable semi-active rotary dampers for heavy off-road wheeled vehicles, which is a joint venture between the South African based company Reumech Ermetek and Horstman Defence Systems from the UK, is described. A brief history of semi-active damping and rotary dampers is given, after which the working principle and features of combining the two technologies is outlined. Three dimensional simulation is used to determine the ride comfort gains achievable with semi-active rotary dampers compared to the conventional translational dampers currently used on the vehicle under consideration. Simulations are performed over different terrains, including the APG track and discrete obstacles. Semi-active rotary dampers were integrated on the 6×6 GV6 Self-propelled Gun Howitzer in order to quantify the improvements in ride comfort, transient response and handling of the vehicle as indicated by the simulation results. The control system, control strategies and characterisation tests, which includes determination of on and off characteristics as well as valve response times, are discussed.     

Design and development of a variable ground clearance,variable wheel track self-leveling hillside vehicle power chassis (V2-HVPC)

This paper presents a design of hillside vehicle power chassis with the balance rocker suspension mechanism. The objective of design is to achieve a variable ground clearance, variable wheel track and self-leveling chassis adapted to the various types of crop grown ridge section and height. The V2-HVPC design consists of the main body, the balance rocker suspension, two driving axles and the steering system. Those assemblies form an H-type chassis structure where both sides of the driving axle and the main body are connected to power transmission. The ground clearance and wheel track have the adjustable function. The balance rocker suspension is a novel mechanism which ensures full-time four-wheel drive in a complex road environment while maintaining the main body level always in the angle bisector of the two driving axle. According to the hillside terrain and agronomic characteristics of various crops, the ground clearance and the wheel track can be adjusted continuously and smoothly by hydraulic system. The topology diagram and power transmission system diagram are all given correspondingly. Moreover simulation analysis and basic experiments have been carried out to verify the mobility and dynamic performance of the V2-HVPC. The results show that the concept of V2-HVPC is approved reasonable and the design and testing methods are feasible and practical.     

Fundamental study on underwater trafficability for tracked vehicle

In recent years, water disasters have increased in Japan. In water disaster, remote controlled vehicles which work for disaster recovery must run in water environment. Since underwater ground is likely to be soft, the vehicle has a risk of stuck. If a vehicle gets stuck at disaster sites, rescue work is difficult because it is not easily to access to that area. We must make a method for judging whether to run or not. For this purpose, we must quantitatively clarify the relationship between the trafficability and the strength, bearing capacity, etc. of underwater ground. We measured the cone index of underwater ground. From results, we confirmed that fragile layer was formed on the surface layer in underwater ground. We measured drawbar pull of a tracked carrier in test field. As a result, maximum drawbar pull of underwater ground was lower than on the ground. After slip occurs, drawbar pull of underwater ground was smaller than ground significantly.     

Semi-active hydropneumatic spring and damper system

This paper is concerned with the development of a semi-active hydropneumatic spring and damper system, comprising of a two state hydropneumatic spring and a two state hydraulic damper. The system was specifically developed to improve the ride comfort and handling of large off-road vehicles. The suspension requirements for good ride comfort and handling for heavy off-road vehicles are discussed with special reference to the advantages of semi-active hydropneumatic springs and semi-active dampers. The layout and functioning of an experimental spring and damper unit used for laboratory tests are discussed. Spring and damper characteristics, as well as valve response times for both the semi-active spring and semi-active damper were determined. A single degree of freedom test rig with a sprung mass of 3 tons was used to perform first order ride comfort tests. Tests include step response and random input response. The test rig was also used to evaluate semi-active control strategies for both spring and damper as well as a control strategy for implementing ride height adjustment without using an external hydraulic pump.     

Time delay in a semi-active damper: modelling the bypass valve

Ride comfort and handling of off-road vehicles can be significantly improved by replacing the normal passive dampers in the vehicle suspension system with controllable, two-state, semi-active dampers. The hydraulic valve, which enables the semi-active damper characteristics to be controlled, is a critical component of a semi-active damper and has a marked influence on suspension performance. Models of the dynamics of a hydraulic bypass valve used on semi-active suspension systems for heavy vehicles were investigated. It is envisaged that similar models will eventually be incorporated into a full vehicle, three-dimensional simulation study. Valve response time (or time delay) is used as a measure of model accuracy because it is an important parameter in the performance of a semi-active damper. Models were created with AMESim, a commercial fluid power simulation environment, and MATLAB. AMESim was found to be capable of dealing with detailed and complex fluid power models. Attempts to solve models of similar complexity in the MATLAB environment were unsuccessful due to numerical stiffness. Experimental work was conducted to obtain dynamic performance data with which to validate model integrity. Several external factors influenced the valve behaviour during experiments. Test bench dynamics significantly influences results and obscures the absolute accuracy of the models and the experimental data. The investigation demonstrated an approach to creating fluid power models for this application that can be used in simulation, but also indicated that substantial effort is required in the process. The accuracy of the current model is not sufficient for design purposes.     

基于xPC Target的静电陀螺支承控制系统仿真

针对静电陀螺转子在电极腔内的运动特性,建立了具有负刚度特性的转子动力学方程。结合传统的3-4,4—3变换,建立了三路支承控制器,并采用MATLAB参数优化工具箱设计控制器参数。采用xPC Target及相应的接口电路建立了实时仿真平台,对支承控制系统进行实时仿真。实时仿真结果表明三路支承控制器能够对具有负刚度特性的转子运动进行有效控制。另外通过一个实际模拟电路验证了实时仿真平台的有效性,这对八电极小型实心转子静电陀螺的支承控制系统快速研制具有重要意义。     

Criteria for handling measurement

Both handling and ride comfort play an important role in the performance of a vehicle, usually resulting in a compromised suspension. To improve this situation, a two-stage, semi-active hydro-pneumatic spring–damper system has been developed. The suspension system enables either good ride comfort for a compliant suspension or good handling when changed to a hard setting. The question that arises is, what measures can be applied to determine when a switchover between the two settings should occur. The frequency weighted mean square value of the vertical acceleration is a well-known criterion for ride comfort. For handling, several criteria have been put forward, which are to a more or lesser extent dependent on driver input. This paper considers the metrics that have been used for measuring handling and pays special attention to roll angle as a valid criterion. Results of tests performed on three different vehicles are presented. The results indicate that roll angle, lateral acceleration and yaw rate are interrelated for the tracks investigated and this is apparently also true for severe handling manoeuvres such as the double lane change. These observations suggest that roll angle is a suitable metric to measure handling and that it can be used to determine the moment of switchover if limits of acceptability are set.     

Longitudinal dynamics of a tracked vehicle: Simulation and experiment

In recent years virtual dynamic system simulation has become very important in the design and development stage, as new strategies can be examined without expensive measurements and with reduced time. This paper describes the development of a simulation model for transient analysis of the longitudinal dynamics of a heavy tracked vehicle. The driving inputs for this simulation model are obtained from a powertrain model. The main elements of the powertrain include the engine, Torque Converter (TC), transmission and drivetrain. Here the engine is modeled based on the engine maps from steady-state experiments. The TC is modeled based on its characteristic map from experiments. A fairly simple transmission model is used which is based on static gear ratios assuming small shift times. The final drivetrain model however includes the rotational dynamics of the sprocket. The simulation model developed is validated by comparing the predicted values with the measured data from experiments. The results have demonstrated that the developed model is able to predict fairly accurately the acceleration and braking performance of the heavy tracked vehicle on both soft and hard terrain.     

Influence of soil deformation on off-road heavy vehicle suspension vibration

Analyses of the dynamic behaviour of a heavy vehicle during off-road operation are conducted under steady state condition. Three different numerical quarter-vehicle models (single point contact model, rigid wheel contact model and deformable wheel contact model) are introduced, and the simulation results are compared in order to find the most appropriate vehicle model. During the longitudinal travel of the vehicle, arbitrary ground profile is an input of vertical excitation to the vehicle. When ground deformation is included in the numerical model, the deformation filters the vertical excitation to the vehicle while the level of excitation varies depending on the soil deformability. Bekker's non-linear pressure/sinkage relationship is applied in modelling the ground behaviour. The simulations are conducted in the time domain and various surface roughness and ground deformability are applied in the ground/vehicle interaction during a parameter study. The ground deformation under the wheel acts like a non-linear spring during the vehicle movement and influences the vehicle vibration. If a vehicle mainly operates on off-road condition with high ground deformability lower value of damping is required in order to minimise the vertical body acceleration.