Key nomenclature 7 
Preface 9 
1. Damping in mechanical systems 11 
1.1. Reasons of damping 11 
1.2. Dissipative forces in discrete systems 12 
1.3. General damping model and damping model uncertainty 16 
1.4. Dissipative forces in continuous systems 18 
1.5. Optimal damping 22 
1.6. Physical criteria of dampers’ classification 24 
2. Magnetorheological dampers 26 
2.1. Magnetorheological fluids 26 
2.2. Principles of magnetorheological dampers 29 
2.3. Shock absorber for suspended seat applications 34 
2.4. Friction damper for experimental use 36 
2.5. The response time of magnetorheological dampers 38 
3. Control concepts 43 
3.1. Feedback model-based or model-less approaches 43 
3.2. Finite time linear-quadratic regulator 45 
3.3. Simple on-off condition depended controllers 49 
3.4. Rule-based controllers 50 
3.5. Neural adapted on-line control 52 
3.6. Fuzzy control 53 
4. Real-time control – fundamentals 56 
4.1. Real-time operation mode 56 
4.2. Real-time operating system 57 
4.2.1. Task management. Scheduling and task management 59 
4.2.2. Task synchronization and inter-task communication 60 
4.2.3. Access to the measurement and control I/O channels 64 
4.3. MS-Windows and real-time operating mode 64 
4.3.1. Native MS-Windows timer services 64 
4.3.2. Real-Time Windows Target 66 
4.3.3. xPC target 67  
4.4. FPGA-based system-on-a-chip real-time operating mode 68 
4.4.1. Architecture of FPGA circuits 68 
4.4.2. System-on-a-chip 69 
4.4.3. Xilinx Xilkernel 70 
5. Measurement and control equipment 72 
5.1. Measurement-control system 72 
5.2. Hardware 73 
5.2.1. Sensors 73 
5.2.2. Power controller 76 
5.3. Signal conditioning 79 
5.4. Signal conversion 81 
5.4.1. Off-line processing 82 
5.4.2. On-line processing 85 
5.4.3. Signal filtering 86 
6. Control of a magnetorheological damper in a driver’s seat suspension 89 
6.1. Model of the system 89 
6.2. Algorithms 91 
6.3. Experimental setup 93 
6.4. Experiments 94 
6.5. Microcontroller based control system 100 
6.5.1. Microcontroller architecture and integrated development environment 100 
6.5.2. Implementation of a selected algorithm and results 103 
7. Control of magnetorheological dampers in a vehicle suspension 108 
7.1. Model of the system 108 
7.2. Algorithms 111 
7.3. Experimental setup 116 
7.4. Experiments 119 
7.5. Microcontroller based control system 129 
7.5.1. Microcontroller architecture and integrated development environment 129 
7.5.2. Implementation of a selected algorithm and results 130 
8. Control of a magnetorheological damper attached to a cable 135 
8.1. Model of the system 135 
8.2. Algorithms 136 
8.3. Experimental setup 138 
8.4. Experiments 140 
8.5. FPGA based control system 152 
8.5.1. FPGA architecture and integrated development environment 152 
8.5.2. Implementation of a selected algorithm and results 153 
Summary 157 
References 158