Design and Control of Torque Feedback Device for Driving Simulator Based on MR Fluid and Coil Spring Structure

Since steering wheel torque feedback is one of the crucial factors for drivers to gain road feel and ensure driving safety, it is especially important to simulate the steering torque feedback for a driving simulator. At present, steering wheel feedback torque is mainly simulated by an electric motor with gear transmission. The torque response is typically slow, which can result in drivers’ discomfort and poor driving maneuverability. This paper presents a novel torque feedback device with magnetorheological (MR) fluid and coil spring. A phase separation control method is also proposed to control its feedback torque, including spring and damping torques respectively. The spring torque is generated by coil spring, the angle of coil spring can be adjusted by controlling a brushless DC motor. The damping torque is generated by MR fluid, the damping coefficient of MR fluid can be adjusted by controlling the current of excitation coil. Simulation has been conducted to compare the proposed device and control method with the systems under conventional approaches, and the results show that the feedback torque from the proposed device has smaller time delay and overshoot, and can greatly improve the response and accuracy of the torque feedback for automobile driving simulator.