Sliding mode control of a shear-mode type ER engine mount

This paper presents feedback control characteristics of a shear-mode type electro-rheological (ER) engine mount. The field-dependent yield stress of an arabic gum-based ER fluid is obtained using a couette type electroviscometer, and it is incorporated into the governing equation of motion of the ER engine mount, which is derived from a bond graph model. A sliding mode controller which directly represents the field-dependent damping force is formulated by taking into account the stiffness and damping properties of the systems as parameter uncertainties. The controller is then experimentally realized by imposing a semi-active actuating condition. The effectiveness of the proposed ER engine mount is demonstrated showing capabilities of isolating the vibrations due to sinusoidal and random excitations.