Application of Semi-Active Inerter in Semi-Active Suspensions Via Force Tracking

Model updating is concerned about the correction of finite element models by processing the record of dynamic response from test structures in order to have an accurate model for any simulated analysis. Finite element model updating had emerged years ago as an important subject in structural dynamics. It has been used frequently and has been successfully applied to many fields especially in detecting the dynamic stiffness of a structure. The purpose of this study is to perform model updating of a go-kart chassis structure in order to reduce the percentage of error between the experimental modal analysis (EMA) and finite element analysis (FEA). Modal properties (natural frequency, mode shapes, and damping ratio) of the go-kart chassis structure were determined using both EMA and FEA. Correlation of the modal parameters gathered in FEA and EMA was carried out before optimizing the data from finite element. By adjusting the selective parameters, incongruities between those two analyses are generally reduced. The sensitivity of selected parameters is also obtained. The significant reduction in percentageof error before and after model updating procedure was carried out in this study clearly shows that model updating technique is a reliable method in reducing the discrepancies between EMA and FEA. Therefore, in cases of high discrepancies between analytical and actual test data, model updating can be considered as an option in order to obtain better correlation between those two sets of data.

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Dynamics Properties of a Go-Kart Chassis Structure and Its Prediction Improvement Using Model Updating Approach

The concept of Internet of Things (IoT) can be utilised in vehicles, since the number of sensor nodes in vehicles is rising tremendously because of the uplifting demand of applications for security, safety and convenience. In order to establish the communication among these nodes inside a vehicle, a controller area network with wired architecture provides a prominent solution. However, this solution is not flexible because of the architectural complexity and the demand for a large number of sensors inside the vehicle; hence wired architectures are replaced by wireless ones. Moreover, scalability will be an 
important issue while introducing the IoT concept in Intra-Vehicular Wireless Sensor Networks (IVWSNs). In this paper, a comprehensive performance investigation on the IoT enabled IVWSNs (IoT-IVWSNs) to be carried out in order to address this issue. The overview of the IoT-IVWSNs with a comparative study of the existing technologies and the design challenges for such network are provided. The link design between an end-device and the control unit is analysed, and the performance of the network has been investigated and some open research issues are addressed. It reveals that the delay in packet transmission increases due to higher traffic loads and the number of end-devices. This result demonstrates that the existing MAC protocol works well for a small network (i.e., a network with a maximum number of 50 nodes) but is not suitable for a large network (i.e., a network with more than 50 nodes). The outcome of this research helps to design a smart car system.

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A Performance Investigation on IoT Enabled Intra-Vehicular Wireless Sensor Networks

Recently, a lot of attention has been given to a mechanical device known as the inerter. It is a mechanical component that can be compared to a capacitor with two ungrounded terminals in the mechanical-electrical systems analogy. In this paper, it is shown that although the concept of an inerter as a separate mechanical element is relatively new, there are several well-established vibration isolation systems that exhibit similar behavior to a simple lumped parameter system containing an inerter. Through a review of the literature, a link is established between the old and new ideas. Furthermore, a comparison between the systems is carried out using the quantities of mechanical impedance and displacement transmissibility. The advantages and disadvantages of using the inerter in vibration isolation are discussed, and a simple way of improving the high-frequency performance without severely degrading the low-frequency performance is described.

Inerter-like devices used for vibration isolation: A historical perspective

Detection and estimation of valve leakage losses in reciprocating compressor using acoustic emission technique

Recent experiences have shown that one of the main causes of heavy vehicle crashes is the braking performance. In particular, when having to decelerate in an emergency situation, such as when an unexpected object is in the road. Thus, the capability of a vehicle to come to a safe stop is one of the most important factors in preventing more accidents. Safe braking distance is influenced by many factors, such as brake pedal force, the vehicle's loading conditions, the travel speed and the road surface conditions. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of the driver's brake pedal force on braking distance during an emergency situation, allowed for a wide range of heavy vehicle's GVW and speed. This study is carried out by using a multi-body dynamics simulation of a Single Unit Truck based on the validated vehicle model. Braking performance was estimated in terms of braking distance on a straight road with a wet surface. The findings from the braking distance simulation suggest a non-linear relationship between brake pedal force and braking distance. Finally, it reveals that, depending on the wheel lock-up situation, braking distance increases with increasing brake pedal force, and that the braking distance on a wet road is significantly affected by both the heavy vehicle's GVW and speed.

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Dynamic simulation of brake pedal force effect on heavy vehicle braking distance under wet road conditions

Inerter is an additional suspension element to spring and damper with the property that the force generated is proportional to the relative acceleration between its two terminals. This study investigates the effectiveness of a parallel inerter in various vehicle suspension systems to provide superior vibration isolation. In the study, the inerter was paired in parallel to passive, semi-active and active vehicle suspension systems, and the systems were solved with a quarter vehicle model to obtain suspension responses due to ground excitations in the form of step and random road profiles. From the analysis, it was observed that inerter force and spring force were anti-phase to each other, and in parallel layout the cancellation of the two forces gave better vibration isolation to a sprung mass. This provided superior ride performance in vehicle suspension application as indicated by the reduction in vertical sprung mass acceleration. It was also found that the effectiveness brought by parallel inerter was independent on the various vehicle suspension systems; however, the improvement was only slight as the cancellation of forces was insignificant relative to the damping force associated with the specific vehicle model used in the study.

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Vehicle suspensions with parallel inerter: Effectiveness in improving vibration isolation

A passive vehicle suspension has constant spring and damper properties that compromise either ride or road holding ability, depending on whether the suspension is designed to be hard or soft. This study examines the implementation of a gear mechanism in a vehicle suspension system to alter its suspension characteristic while keeping the same spring and damper properties. In the study, a rack-and-pinion mechanism was used to modify the suspension force which acted between the sprung and unsprung masses of a quarter vehicle model. The system with proposed suspension layout was modeled mathematically and solved to obtain the vehicle response due to step excitation for various gear ratios. Results indicated that the use of such a mechanism was capable of changing the equivalent suspension force of the system. It was noted that different gear ratios would amplify or reduce the equivalent suspension force, hence emulating a harder or softer suspension setting compared to that of the original suspension. Additio...

Using gear mechanism in vehicle suspension as a method of altering suspension characteristic

Quarter vehicle model is the simplest representation of a vehicle that belongs to lumped-mass vehicle models. It is widely used in vehicle and suspension analyses, particularly those related to ride dynamics. However, as much as its common adoption, it is also commonly accepted without quantification that this model is not as accurate as many higher-degree-of-freedom models due to its simplicity and limited degrees of freedom. This study investigates the trade-off between simplicity and accuracy within the context of quarter vehicle model by determining the effect of adding various modeling details on model accuracy. In the study, road input detail, tire detail, suspension stiffness detail and suspension damping detail were factored in, and several enhanced models were compared to the base model to assess the significance of these details. The results clearly indicated that these details do have effect on simulated vehicle response, but to various extents. In particular, road input detail and suspension damping detail have the most significance and are worth being added to quarter vehicle model, as the inclusion of these details changed the response quite fundamentally. Overall, when it comes to lumped-mass vehicle modeling, it is reasonable to say that model accuracy depends not just on the number of degrees of freedom employed, but also on the contributions from various modeling details.

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Ming Foong Soong

Papers

Detection and estimation of valve leakage losses in reciprocating compressor using acoustic emission technique

Dynamic simulation of brake pedal force effect on heavy vehicle braking distance under wet road conditions

Vehicle suspensions with parallel inerter: Effectiveness in improving vibration isolation

Using gear mechanism in vehicle suspension as a method of altering suspension characteristic

Between simplicity and accuracy: Effect of adding modeling details on quarter vehicle model accuracy.