Multidomain Synthesis of Optimal Vibration Suppression Systems

There are numerous design possibilities for vibration–suppression systems considering components from multiple domains (e.g., mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical). Traditional vibration absorber design approach could only explore limited possibilities, of which the performance is away from optimal. Since the 2000s, network synthesis-based approach has been applied. It allows identification of optimal absorber properties represented by networks consisting of modeling elements (stiffness, damping, inertance), providing significant theoretical performance improvements. However, such improvements have not yet been realized in industry. This is because the following questions have not been answered: (1) What are the network-represented properties of the conventional absorber? (2) How can the optimal network-represented properties be realized considering multidomain physical components? This article provides a method for answering these questions by proposing a novel multidomain synthesis technique, allowing bidirectional transformation between networks and multidomain components. Building on this technique, a vibration–absorber design methodology is proposed, which can construct physical realizations of optimal absorbers considering multidomain components. Another contribution of this work is to propose a novel component, providing a hydraulic realization of compliance ‘embedded’ in a hydraulic network. This methodology is demonstrated using an automotive case study, where the constructed optimal hydraulic suspension provides 23% ride comfort enhancement over the conventional one.