An adjustable damper for cab suspension

The aim of this study was to design and test an adjustable hydro-pneumatic damper for cab suspension. The goal was to make a simple and cheap solution for a damper, which is intended to be placed between the hydraulic cylinder and accumulator. Damping behaviour of different terrain types had to be taken into consideration. Terrain type varies from field to road driving and damping should react rapidly to varying conditions. In this study, the semi-active damper has been built with a hydraulic direct acting cartridge type 2/2-way proportional flow control valve. Flow-pressure curves and dynamic tests were carried out in the laboratory. The dynamic test with forced vibration focused on stability in damping frequencies and step response between different states. Also, total damping force was measured in different damping states and the proportional valve’s precise step responses and stability were investigated in a closed hydraulic system. As a result, this research gave a lot of new information about the proportional valve’s applicability to work as a semi-active damper and information about damping behaviour. Research showed that a proportional valve can work in a cab suspension damper as well as a multi-fixed orifice damper. Bi-directional flow in the proportional valve was found to remain stable in cab suspension working conditions. The proportional valve also has the ability to work as a continuous state damper, which could lead to better damping results with the appropriate control system.