Hybrid Simulation: mHIL Damper

The mechanical Hardware-in-the-Loop (mHIL) Damper solution combines a computational full-vehicle model with a physical damper test system(s) and damper specimen(s) to create a vehicle-level simulation environment that enables vehicle development engineers to benchmark, characterize, set-up, tune and validate damper systems at the sub-system and vehicle levels.

Applications

  • Full subsystem evaluation with maneuver based testing
  • Algorithm development and validation
  • Fault and limit handling event testing
  • Damper durability and characterization evaluations
  • Damper pre-tuning
  • Warranty program research
  • Vendor certification

Test Specimens

  • Vehicle Dampers - Active
  • Vehicle Dampers - Semi-active
  • Vehicle Dampers - Passive
  • Damper Support Infrastructure

Key Product Features

Accelerated Testing

mHIL techniques compress vehicle development schedules by enabling meaningful evaluation and validation subsystems and vehicles earlier in development - well before the availability of vehicle prototypes

Innovative Technology

Real components can be substituted for difficult-to-model components when performing virtual simulations, enhancing characterization and improving model development

Cost Efficient

Reduces the number of vehicle prototypes required, minimizes instrumentation and data acquisition costs and streamlines final proving ground validation

Enhanced Safety

Expected and unexpected fault conditions more easily detected and safely evaluated in a laboratory environment

Technical Overview

mHIL Damper

A Mechanical Hardware in the Loop (mHIL) system provides a laboratory method of evaluating the effects of physical chassis elements (in this case the damper sub-system) on vehicle-level attributes (in this case vehicle handling).

  • An MTS damper test system or systems with customer dampers installed on it represents the mechanical hardware, which is put in place of modeled damper element(s) within a vehicle simulation model
  • The damper sub-system consists of the damper itself including necessary infrastructure and fixturing to simulate a realistic vehicle configuration. 
  • The damper system can be passive or actively controlled by an ECU. 
  • The damper system and the ECU are driven in the modeled vehicle on a modeled track as if they were on a real vehicle and track.

The damper test system applies loads and/or displacements to the mechanical damper hardware based on inputs from the vehicle simulation model, measures the hardware response, and then sends these responses back to the vehicle simulation mode. The mechanical hardware is included “in the loop” with the simulated vehicle.

Related Products, Parts or Accessories

Contact An MTS Rep Today

Ready for a quote or need more information? We're here to help.

Request a quote

Resources

 
Innovation Note

Accelerate Active & Semi-active System Development

Explore the the advantages of proven mHIL technology.

 
Application Note

Testing High-performance Bike Suspensions

Tour the testing lab at Fox Factory, Inc. to see how they co…

 
New Product

Introducing FlexTest Elite Performance Controllers

Increase channel count, system rate and computational cap…

 
Case Study

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Using hybrid simulation to evaluate damper system impacts on…

 
Article

Factors to Weigh When Considering Electric or Hydraulic Test Systems

Guidance on damper test systems and road simulators