Optimal design and experimental evaluation of magneto-rheological mount applied to start/stop mode of vehicle powertrain

Magneto-rheological mount is one of the most effective vibration isolation devices for the vibration isolation system of vehicle powertrain. In this article, a flow type of magneto-rheological mount was proposed to control the vibration and the torque excitation of the engine when vehicle was in start/stop mode. A mathematical model for the flow type of magneto-rheological mount was formulated with consideration of the influence of current on magneto-rheological fluid viscosity and the relationship between liquid resistance effect and flow rate in damping gap. Then, a co-simulation optimal platform was developed by the Isight and the ANSYS, and the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II was used to optimize magnetic circuit. Subsequently, two prototypes of magneto-rheological mounts were manufactured according to the initial design and the optimal design model, and the dynamic performance test of magneto-rheological mount monomer and the vibration isolation performance test of the whole vehicle under start/stop mode were carried out, respectively. The experimental results showed that the controllability and the vibration isolation performance of the optimal design magneto-rheological mount were significantly improved compared with the initial design.