Active Damping of a Hydrostatic Steering Circuit for an Articulated Vehicle

This paper investigates the steering performance of an articulated vehicle with a hydrostatic steering circuit, where the objective is to evaluate the steering performance and comfort level of the vehicle with and without active damping. The steering system is based on a hydraulic actuated system, which response often is underdamped. The operator of such a vehicle is placed on top of the articulation point and the hydraulic cylinders, which then directly translates the underdamped cylinder oscillations into undesired lateral motion of the operator. Active damping is therefore a promising concept for increasing the comfort level of the hydraulic steering circuit.