Inerter Based Suspension

Systems
-Darshit Patel (U16ME079)
 What is an Inerter?

• In the study of mechanical networks in

control theory, an inerter is a two-
terminal device in which the forces
applied at the terminals are equal,
opposite, and proportional to relative
acceleration between the nodes.
 History

• The Mechanical – Electrical Analogy.

• Force – Current
• Velocity Voltage
• Spring Stiffness = Reciprocal of
inductance
• Damping coefficient = Reciprocal of
Resistance.
• Mass – Capacitance?
• Accordingly the mechanical element of
mass was considered as equivalent to
capacitance.
• But this analogy could be made for
systems where one terminal of the
electrical capacitance is grounded
electrically. Hence there was no
component that behaved like an
independent capacitance.
• In 2002, Malcolm C Smith came up with the idea of a device that
store the kinetic energy into the rotation of the flywheels. Such
devices could capture and release large amounts of energy with a
small relative inertia of its components.
• This device was nothing but the inerter.
• He introduced this device in his paper titled “Synthesis of Mechanical
Networks: The Inerter.” published in 2002 in the IEEE Transactions on
Automatic Control journal.
• Malcolm Smith proposed a mechanism run by a pair of rack
and pinion gears to realize this new type of mechanical
device.
• The equation governing this device is as shown.
• This is one of the realizations. Over the years different
mechanism have been developed for this system.
Other Types of Inerter Systems

Ball-Screw Type Inerter Hydraulic Inerter

Use in Suspension System
• McLaren F1 racing team was the first to use this inerter device in their
vehicle in 2005. Later it was adopted by Renault F1 team and so on. In
motorsports jargon, this device is known by the name of J-Damper.

Mounted between the suspension rockers, the J-damper is inactive in body roll and
only operates in vertical movement or jounce, hence its name
Use in Suspension (Contd.)
• There is always a tradeoff between road holding ability of the vehicle
and ride comfort while designing the suspension systems.
• The designer of conventional suspension systems is stuck with only
two controllable parameters and hence has a very little flexibility to
control the system. An additional parameter could provide a better
freedom to the designers to optimize the suspension system. For this
reason, the inerter is incorporated.
 Quarter-Car
suspension model
• The easiest and fairly accurate method
to study and analyze the suspension
system of a vehicle is with the use of a
quarter-car model.
• The most standard suspension model is
of a passive suspension system.
• The governing Equations are:
Inerter in series to the
passive system.
Inerter in series to the passive
system.
Frequency Responses
Response over a standard bump profile

• SMA stands for Sprung Mass

Acceleration which is the
ultimate jerk the passenger feels
while riding the vehicle
Other Applications
• This device is a dynamic device and can be used in the damping of
various structural components.
• These devices are currently researched to damp the vibrations during
seismic earthquakes to help stabilize the building and structures.
• This system can be used in applications where a vibration isolation is
required. Hence this device can be used to reduce oscillations and
noise.
Why is it currently not popular?
• Due to higher stiffness, this system increases the road holding
capacity of the system.
• Hence it is highly popular in motorsports and other performance
vehicles.
• The recent research shows that a better ride quality can also be
obtained by using a semi-active or active inerter.
Thank You
Any Questions?