A Study on the Vibration Attenuation of a Driver Seat Using an MR Fluid Damper

A seat suspension system with a controlled magneto rheological (MR) fluid damper is introduced to improve the ride quality and prevent the health risk of a driver compared to conventional seats. The system locates between a seat cushion and base, and is composed of a spring, MR fluid damper and controller. The MR fluid damper designed in valve mode is capable of producing a wide range of damping force according to applied currents. In experiments, a person was sitting on the controlled seat excited by a hydraulic system. The skyhook control, continuous skyhook control and relative displacement control were applied and the continuous skyhook control improved the vibration suppression by 36.6%.