Design optimization and performance evaluation of hybrid type magnetorheological damper

This work presents the design optimization and numerical investigation results to evaluate the vibration control performance of a novel hybrid type magnetorheological (MR) damper. Since the proposed hybrid type MR damper has both an electromagnet and permanent magnets, it is possible to design a compact-sized damper with an improved damping force. After designing and characteristics analysis of the proposed hybrid type MR damper, optimization of design parameters is carried out to achieve enhanced damping force. The designed hybrid type MR damper is applied on both quarter and full vehicle models to evaluate its performance on suppressing the unwanted sprung mass motions such as heave and pitch motion. Skyhook and linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controllers are designed and incorporated to the vehicle system models to control the current input to the proposed hybrid type MR damper. The input current to this hybrid type damper is reduced while the damping force is enhanced compared with the conventional MR damper. All the numerically simulated results showed that the proposed hybrid type MR damper can improve the ride comfort and road holding capability on bump and random road conditions.