Damage identification for health monitoring of ground vehicle through active probing of vehicle response

Alan Adam Meyer, Purdue University

Abstract

While semi-active suspension systems have been shown to be effective in the real-time optimization of vehicle ride and handling, these systems also present a means for damage detection and condition monitoring. This research demonstrated the ability to detect damage in a ground vehicle by passively tuning a suspension system to systematically alter the suspension parameters in order to probe the vehicle system response. By modulating the suspension parameters at a particular corner of the vehicle, or combinations of corners, selected operational modes of the sprung and unsprung masses were probed providing an increased ability to detect and locate damage in certain vehicle components. The experimental data demonstrated that the ability to detect damage was increased by an average of 71% for the seven damage conditions that were tested using transmissibility functions for analysis with the active probing technique. Theoretical and experimental data were also presented which demonstrated the potential of the active probing concept to increase the ability to locate and quantify damage. A significant benefit of the active probing technique was that the damage index that was calculated was based only on an individual vehicle's response at different points in time. A database of historical data from similar vehicles was not required. Benefits of an on-board health monitoring system could be realized with minimal incremental cost by adding a small number of sensors. The ability to detect vehicle damage during operation could contribute to improved safety and enable condition-based maintenance for reduced life cycle cost.

Degree

M.S.E.

Advisors

Adams, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Mechanical engineering

COinS