Real-time testing and thermal characterization of a cost-effective magneto-rheological (MR) damper for four-wheeler application

Abstract

Recent studies show that the Magento-Rheological (MR) dampers can serve as a suitable replacement for passive dampers on ground vehicles. MR dampers are factory fitted in premium luxury vehicles. However, the high price of these MR dampers has restricted their use to premium vehicles only. The study presented in this article attempts to develop a MR damper, in collaboration with a shock absorber manufacturer, that can replace the existing passive dampers on a passenger van while being more affordable than the commercially available MR dampers. The developed MR damper is subjected to rigorous testing on the damper testing machine to evaluate its damping performance, reliability and thermal performance. The simulation results of the test vehicle model revealed a superior MR damper performance compared to the stock passive damper. The MR damper is later installed on the test vehicle to conduct real-time experiments. The real-time experiments showed that the developed MR damper improved the ride comfort of the test vehicle by 16.2% at 10 km/hr and by 17.6% at 20 km/hr compared to passive dampers while running over a speed bump. The road handling also improved by 14.32% at 10 km/hr and by 29.3% at 20 km/hr. At the end of the study, the cost evaluation performed on the developed MR damper revealed that it was more affordable than the commercially available MR dampers. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering.