Actively suspending off-road vehicles

The University of Texas Center for Electromechanics evaluated a retrofit electromechanical active suspension that shows promise of improved cross-country mobility for military vehicles.

Passive suspension systems compromise ride quality with handling. An active suspension system, on the other hand, can discriminate between vertical suspension displacements associated with terrain variations and those associated with the vehicle rollover forces during turning. As such, active elements in the suspension can respond to provide both a soft: and comfortable ride with limited body roll during turning.

Hydraulic active suspension systems have achieved only limited success in off-road applications because response lag from hydraulic actuators results in a transmission of terrain harshness to the body structure. A study by the University of Texas Center for Electromechanics (UT-ECM) demonstrated the performance of an electromagnetic (EM) active force-producing element that is reversible.