Monroe® Intelligent Suspension Channels the Sixth Sense
The Monroe® Intelligent Suspension portfolio from offers a range of technologies that can be tailored to specific OE customer requirements for ride, handling and comfort. It provides dynamic driving solutions for all vehicle segments from compact cars through luxury cars to supercars. Common to all technologies in the Monroe® Intelligent Suspension portfolio are the electronically controlled shock absorbers. These act as a sixth sense, adjusting constantly to changing road conditions to deliver a secure feeling and offer the driver the luxury of choice between a more comfortable or a more dynamic ride.
Three products in the Monroe® Intelligent Suspension portfolio contribute to the company’s “Scalable Architecture” concept. This uses intelligent actuator constructions to easily scale semi-active suspension systems up to advanced and fully-active applications. Using Tenneco’s unique Scalable Architecture concept, platforms already equipped with CVSA2 (Continuously Variable Semi-Active Suspension systems) can be easily upgraded to CVSA2/KINETIC® or ACOCAR® fully-active system as an option. These light weight actuator constructions, made mainly from aluminum, share common components, production processes, sensors and electronic control units (ECUs).
Tenneco’s Scalable Architecture concept leverages the power of Tenneco’s latest generation CVSA2 technology. Two active hydraulic valves continuously and independently control the compression and rebound damping to road conditions and vehicle dynamics like speed, turning, cornering and driver inputs. The system provides optimum driving performance and improves ride smoothness and noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). The continuously controlled damping works with the “skyhook” principle for body control, with additional algorithms for wheel hop, steering, braking and acceleration control.
CVSA2/KINETIC® adds adjustable and progressive roll stiffness control to the CVSA2 semi-active damping technology, significantly improving vehicle handling. The reduced articulation and single wheel stiffness optimizes vertical tire loads, resulting in significantly improved traction and off-road performance for SUV-type vehicles. The additional benefits of this enhanced system are reduced weight (aluminum design and redundancy of the front and rear anti-roll bars), very low energy consumption (passive hydraulic system) and lower system costs (system simplicity) compared to other semi-active suspension systems combined with active roll control.
ACOCAR® is a fully-active suspension system based on the CVSA2 corner concept with the addition of active power packs on each corner to provide the ultimate ride experience. The power packs bring energy to each independently-controlled actuator for both force damping and force generation. With this principle and a so-called ”flying carpet” control of wheel and body motions, the car body can be fully controlled in a flat position even on bumpy roads and corners. The lightweight actuators use conventional (air) springs to hold the static weight of the car, so a negligible amount of energy is needed to carry the weight of the car on smooth and straight roads. The system is weight-neutral compared to conventional suspension solutions as a result of the aluminum design and elimination of the front and rear anti-roll bars.