Modeling and Semi-Active Predictive Control of a Magnetorheological Fluid Shock Isolation System

This paper presents the mathematical modeling and predictive control of a magnetorheological fluid damper system. For the development of an effective controller precise modeling of the force-velocity characteristics of the MR damper is needed. Based on experimental data first the mathematical model for the MR damper is developed. Then a predictive controller is designed for the shock isolation of the payload mass. The design of the predictive controller is based on the optimization of a judiciously chosen performance index. The control input (electric current) is assumed to be bounded and positive for all time. Simulation results are presented which show that the developed mathematical model is effective in characterizing the behavior of the MR damper and the designed predictive controller is effective in the shock isolation of the payload