High-voltage power supply for semi-active suspension system with ER-fluid damper

Electrorheological (ER) fluid is a composite material sometimes applied to mechanical motion devices such as the semi-active suspension, high-speed clutch, and vibration isolator. ER fluid application needs a high-voltage power supply (HVPS) having special requirements such as sufficiently high and continuously controllable output voltage, fast dynamic performance, over-current-limiting capability, low cost, and compact size. This paper deals with the HVPS for the semi-active suspension using the ER-fluid damper. The electrical characteristics of the ER-fluid damper are analyzed and the design and implementation of the HVPS are presented. It is well demonstrated through experiments that the developed HVPS shows a satisfactory performance suitable for ER-fluid application.