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Paris – Within a single vehicle generation, Delphi Corporation’s MagneRide™ controlled suspension system could virtually eliminate the traditional need for a ride/handling compromise. Innovations now in development at Delphi’s technical centres in Europe and the US will further enhance the dynamic range and speed of response of the system, allowing significant improvements in both vehicle dynamics and ride quality without any increase in packaging or weight compared with today’s production system.
“Today’s production implementations of MagneRide clearly show the ability of the system to deliver excellent ride and handling, but there is a lot more that can be achieved with further evolutions of the technology,” says Delphi’s chief engineer, chassis technologies, Dr Alex Alexandridis. “We are working on a step change in the capability of ride control systems. Within one vehicle generation we will virtually eliminate the need to choose between ride and handling performance.”
MagneRide is the world’s most advanced production ride control system. Using fixed-orifice dampers whose response can be changed by electro-magnetically controlling the rheological properties of the damper fluid, it allows vehicle engineers to achieve an exceptional combination of ride and handling performance. Unlike conventional, valve-based semi-active suspension systems, MagneRide is mechanically simple with no valves or other small moving parts. The system responds in real time to road and driving conditions based on inputs from sensors that monitor body and wheel motions and driver control inputs, providing a fast, smooth, continuously variable damping action from a simple,cost-effective and reliable package. European production vehicles currently available with MagneRide include the Audi TT, Audi R8 and the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. |
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and transient body motions can be controlled effectively without additional systems. The ability to generate high control forces at low relative body velocities (the speed the body moves up or down on the suspension) is an intrinsic property of MagneRide.
Other mechanical improvements, leading to improved efficiency and faster response, include friction reduction and superior seal and bearing designs and materials, plus other modifications to improve resistance to side loads that will push the application possibilities into heavier vehicle sectors such as large high-performance SUVs.
To take full advantage of the mechanical upgrades and provide even faster control signals, Delphi is also developing new, faster and more precise control algorithms optimised to take full advantage of the new electrodynamic characteristics. A new way of processing data is being developed, replacing traditional approximations with real-time force generation models based on the fluid dynamics of the damper and its shorter response time. Delphi can add variables to match the requirements of vehicle manufacturers and their applications and the system will understand the way in which these variables interact with other parameters to affect the flow characteristics and hence the force generation. This gives it a very powerful control platform on which to build.
Beyond MagneRide
For many years Delphi has been investigating how vehicle dynamics, particularly response to emergency situations, can be improved by sharing data with other vehicle systems. In a ‘global chassis control’ system, a supervisory computer would manage an array of subsystem controllers, potentially covering anti lock braking, electronic stability control, engine torque, roll control, dampers and active steering. In a severe emergency turn under braking, for example, the ability of MagneRide to optimise the vehicle’s dynamic behaviour |
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