Layout Optimization and Performance Analysis of Vehicle Suspension System Using an Electromagnetic Inerter

The inerter is a vibration isolation device used to replace the mass element in classical vibration isolation theory. The introduction of an inerter into a vehicle suspension system can greatly improve the performance of the system. An electromagnetic inerter is a kind of device that can realize a complex suspension structure without an additional energy supply and a complicated control system. It not only utilizes hydraulic systems to attain various suspension mechanical structures but also incorporates linear generators to form more intricate electrical networks. In this paper, an approach is proposed to achieve an optimized vehicle suspension layout using an electromagnetic inerter, which promotes the practical application of the device. First, seven suspension layouts are presented based on this device and relevant models are established to optimize the performance of these seven layouts under certain objectives. Then, the influence of three factors of the electrical network, namely linear generator internal resistance, inductance, and linear generator coefficient, on suspension performance is analyzed. At the same time, to ensure the suspension performance of this device is closer to that required for actual engineering applications, the improvement in the vibration isolation performance of the device compared with traditional passive suspension is discussed considering these three factors. The final results show that when considering the real-world situation, the L1 and L4 layouts can achieve excellent performance improvement, with RMS(BA) values of only 85.73% and 84.66% of the traditional passive suspension.