A vehicle with better suspension always provides extra satisfaction to the passengers. Active and semi-active suspension systems are meant to overcome the narrow comfort of passive suspension. Though active systems are superior in terms of performance, their cost makes it be used only in limited applications. Semi-active systems are the best compromise between active and passive systems. One procedure to achieve ‘semi-activeness’ is the use of magneto-rheological (MR) fluid in the system where the fluid property can be varied with a change in the magnetic field applied. The use of MR fluid in the damper for vehicular applications is presented in this study. The rheological characteristic of MR fluid prepared in-house is analyzed and the MR damper is characterized to understand the dynamic behavior of synthesized MR fluid. Then, the MR damper is represented mathematically using the modified algebraic model and is used in the quarter car model. Two road profiles are chosen for the analysis. Also, this study has attempted to address complexity arriving in the analysis of MR damper due to nonlinear hysteretic force characteristic using linearization toolbox in MATLAB Simulink.

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