BRING MODERN VEHICLE DESIGN TO YOUR LAB The Active Suspension experiment includes pedagogical curriculum for undergraduate students and teaches cutting-edge technology that has brought a new generation of vehicles to life. Active suspension technology is used in the automotive industry to continuously control the vertical movement of the wheel using an actively controlled actuator placed on the suspension axis. Similar technologies have also been used in train bogies to improve the curving behavior of the train and the decrease acceleration perceived by the passenger.

HOW IT WORKSThis Active Suspension system consists of three masses, each supported by a spring as shown in the figure 1. The upper mass ( blue) represents the vehicle body supported above the suspension while the middle mass ( red) corresponds to one of the vehicle’s wheels. The upper mass is actuated through a programmable motor. The lower plate (silver) simulates the road surface by moving vertically. A LQG controller can be used to optimize a variety of performance parameters in this fourth order quarter-car model. The performance criteria can be formulated into a mathematical model. The performance measures to be controlled include:

Ride Comfort - is related to vehicle body motion sensed by the passengers. It is measurable through an accelerometer located on the sprung mass.

Suspension Travel - refers to relative displacement between the vehicle body and the wheel. It is constrained within an allowable range of motion, measured using a linear capstan mechanism.

Road Handling - is associated with the contact forces between the road surface and the vehicle tires. In the Active Suspension structure the relative displacement between the unsprung mass and the road represents the tire deflection.

Products and/or services pictured and referred to herein and their accompanying speci�cations may be subject to change without notice. Products and/or services mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Quanser Inc. and/or its a�liates. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. ©2009 Quanser Inc. All rights reserved.

The Active Suspension is an ideal platform to teach active control challenges for a quarter-car model. This plant setup o�ers senior mechanical engineering students unique hands-on learning relevant to today’s automotive industry.

Please see system speci�cations on reverse.

Rev 1.0

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Figure 1. Double Mass-Spring-Damper used to model the Active Suspension System

ACTIVE SUSPENSION

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• Quanser Curriculum• Set-up Guide• Pre-Built Controller

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ACTI VE SUS P ENSION TEACHING S OLUTIONConsists of a Active Suspension unit (1)Quanser Data Acquisition Card: Q4 (2) Quanser linear ampli�er: AM PAQ (3)Signal conditioning unit (4)QuaRC software (5)Student workbook, teacher workbook and lab setup guide provided in electronic format on CD (6)A selection of pre-built controllers and complete dynamic model (7)Virtual P lant Simulator (8)

GET F URTHER WITH SI M ULATIONThe advent of Quanser’s Virtual Plant Simulation (VPS) allows to run a real-time virtual environment simulation of the experiment parallel to the actual controller commanding the plant. VPS is a precise dynamic model of the device which is seamlessly integrated with the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) representation of the plant. The VPS can be purchased separately for real-time assessment of controllers independently of hardware-in-the-loop components.

Products and/or services pictured and referred to herein and their accompanying speci�cations may be subject to change without notice. Products and/or services mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Quanser Inc. and/or its a�liates. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. ©2009 Quanser Inc. All rights reserved.

ActiveS uspension Unit

Safety Cable

Heavy Duty Lead Screw Mechanism

High Performance Suspension Motor

Easily Removable Screws for Sti�ness Adjustment

Multi-coloured Masses

High Resolution

Encoder to Measure

Position

PreciseAccelerometer

Removable Weight

Unit

Adjustable Spring

Sti�ness

Quick Connect Feature

CURRICULU M TOP ICS P ROVIDED

• Double mass, spring, damper system analysis• Industry-relevant control requirements (ride comfort,

suspension travel, road handling)• Derivation of dynamic model • State space representation • System transfer functions • Open-loop system analysis

• Time-domain and frequency-domain open-loop and closed-loop system identi�cation

• Full-state/two-state feedback LQR control design (with real-time control parameter tuning)

• Full-state/two-state feedback LQG controller (with real-time control/observer parameter tuning)

• Observer design For other possible curriculum topics please visit www.quanser.com/ActiveSuspension

SYSTEMSPECIFICATIONS

FEATURES

• Heavy-duty and robust machined components• Fully documented system models and parameters• High resolution optical encoder to measure position• Adjustable weight and spring sti�ness

• Open architecture • Precise accelerometer measurement as sensory input• E�cient and responsive belt-drive mechanism to simulate the

road surface• Multi-coloured masses for distinction (vehicle body in blue,

vehicle wheel in red and road surface in silver)• Limit switch and protection circuit for safe operationDEVICE SP ECI FICATION

Range of motion (mm) Road = ±22, Tire = ±19, Car = ±25.4Mass (kg) 15Position resolution (mm) Road = 0.009, Tire = 0.005, Car Body = 0.009Sti�ness (N/mm) Adjustable from 0.4 to 2Dimension – W x L x H (inches) 12 x 12 x 24Excitation frequency (Hz) Up to 25 Resonant frequency (Hz) Con�gurable between 1 to 8

COMP LETE WORKSTATION COMP ONENTS

The following components are provided with the plant to o�er a self-su�cient workstation for teaching and research. Controller Design Environment: QuaRC® seamlessly integrated with Matlab® and Simulink®Documentation: Instructor workbook, Student workbook and Lab setup guideTargets: Microsoft Windows®, QNX® Momentics and INtime®Data Acquisition Cards: Quanser Q4 or Q8Ampli�er: Quanser AMPAQ (multi-channel linear current ampli�er)The complete dynamic model and Simulink pre-built controllers are also supplied.

OTHER COMP ATIB LE COMP ONENTS

Controller Design Environment: LabVIEW™Data Acquisition Cards: National Instruments™ R, E and M series*, dSpaceLabVIEW pre-built controllers are also supplied.

* P lease visit www.quanser.com for a detailed list of National Instruments™ card support.About Quanser: Quanser is the world leader in education and research for real-time control design and implementation. We specialize in out�tting engineering control laboratories to help universities captivate the brightest minds, motivate them to success and produce graduates with industry-relevant skills. Universities worldwide implement Quanser’s open architecture control solutions, industry-relevant curriculum and cutting-edge work

stations to teach Introductory, Intermediate or Advanced controls to students in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Robotics, Aerospace, Civil, and various other engineering disciplines. Quanser educational solutions are fully compatible with:

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