Magnetorheological semi-active shock mitigation control. Part I: numerical analysis and preliminary tests

Minimizing shock loads transmitted to sensitive structures or equipment is the objective of shock mitigation control. The core of shock mitigation control using magnetorheological (MR) energy absorber (EA) to minimize impact load is to make full use of the piston stroke of MREA so as to achieve “soft-landing.” The key lies in the precise description of the hysteresis of MREA and the shock mitigation control method. In this part, a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) shock mitigation control system using MREA is established, and the corresponding dynamic model and drop-induced shock mitigation test system are established. Based on the optimal Bi number control method and constant force control theory, feedforward controllers featuring resistor-capacitor (RC) operator-based hysteresis model and Bingham model are established to realize “soft-landing” in sequence. Specific performance evaluation indexes for shock mitigation control systems, that is, average velocity change rate (AVCR) and velocity-acceleration conversion ratio (V-ACR), are proposed. The effectiveness of shock mitigation control methods with different models on the MREA-based shock mitigation control system in profiles of simulation and tests are compared and analyzed.