Abstract
Semi-active suspension systems are greatly expected to be in the mainstream of future controlled suspensions for passenger cars. In this study, a continuous variable damper for a passenger car suspension is developed, which is controlled actively and exhibits high performance with light weight, low cost, and low energy consumption. To get fast response of the damper, reverse damping mechanism is adapted, and to get small pressure change rate after blow-off, a pilot controlled proportional valve is designed and analyzed. The reverse continuous variable damper is designed as a HS-SH damper that offers good body control with reduced transferred input force from tire, compared with any other type of suspension system. The damper structure is designed, so that rebound and compression damping force can be tuned independently, of which variable valve is placed externally. The rate of pressure change with respect to the flow rate after blow-off becomes smooth when the fixed orifice size increases, which means that the blow-off slope is controllable using the fixed orifice size. The damping force variance is wide and continuous, and is controlled by the spool opening, of which scheme is usually adapted in proportional valves. The reverse continuous variable damper developed in this study is expected to be utilized in the semi-active suspension systems in passenger cars after its performance and simplicity of the design is confirmed through real car test.
