Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Simulation of a Quarter Vehicle Model Using a Multi-Axis Simulation Table (MAST)

The reliable and repeatable experimental testing of automotive components is a challenge, especially when human occupants are involved. In most circumstances full vehicle testing over a range of road conditions is used even though this is expensive, difficult and time-consuming. In this work an experimental platform that compensates for the vehicle motion using the principle of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation is developed using a multi-axis simulation table (MAST) available in the Center for Power Transmission and Motion Control (PTMC) laboratory at the University of Bath. The MAST was tested in both the time and frequency domains with a range of road profiles including a random and single bump in the low frequency range (0.5–25 Hz). Also, uncertainties in the vehicle suspension characteristics such as the damping coefficient, the stiffness rate and the vehicle mass are examined. The experimental results in the frequency and time domain show that the MAST can be used to reproduce the dynamic characteristics of a quarter vehicle model with an excellent degree of agreement with the simulated response.