Magneto-rheological active seat suspension for heavy vehicles

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Heavy vehicle drivers are exposed to vibrations and shock loads originating from the rough road conditions that are transmitted through the driver's seat suspension. These vibrations are harmful to the driver's health as they increase the risk of lower back pain, sciatic pain and degenerative changes in the spinal system. The performance of the passive seat suspensions currently used in heavy vehicles is limited by a fundamental design trade-off between static stiffness and dynamic compliance; as a result, passive seat suspensions may fail to comply with ISO 2631-1 vibration exposure standard. Much larger vibration reduction is achievable using active suspension systems, where actuators are used instead of dampers to attenuate vibrations transmitted to the driver. The two commercially available active seat suspensions use either hydraulic or electromagnetic actuators to attenuate the vibration transmitted to the driver. Nonetheless, hydraulic actuators consume large amount of power and electromagnetic actuators are heavy and expensive. This research aims at assessing the feasibility of a novel electromechanical actuator as a low cost, lightweight and effective solution for active seat suspensions of heavy vehicles. Such actuators have demonstrated in past research to be a reliable, lightweight and cost-effective alternative to hydraulic actuators for primary flight control of aerospace vehicles and to electromagnetic actuators for dynamic applications involving large forces and displacements. The research project will provide a cost-effective solution for preventing permanent injuries to heavy vehicle drivers that are caused by vibrations and shocks transmitted by the seat suspension. Furthermore, the research will generate new understanding on the fundamental behavior and performance of the novel actuator design. The project will benefit Canada as it will provide patentable innovations to the Canadian company Exonetics Design, which aims at commercializing the product in the coming years.