Series active variable geometry suspension application to comfort enhancement

This paper explores the potential of the Series Active Variable Geometry Suspension (SAVGS) for comfort and road holding enhancement. The SAVGS concept introduces significant nonlinearities associated with the rotation of the mechanical link that connects the chassis to the spring-damper unit. Although conventional linearization procedures implemented in multi-body software packages can deal with this configuration, they produce linear models of reduced applicability. To overcome this limitation, an alternative linearization approach based on energy conservation principles is proposed and successfully applied to one corner of the car, thus enabling the use of linear robust control techniques. An H∞ controller is synthesized for this simplified quarter-car linear model and tuned based on the singular value decomposition of the system's transfer matrix. The proposed control is thoroughly tested with one-corner and full-vehicle nonlinear multi-body models. In the SAVGS setup, the actuator appears in series with the passive spring-damper and therefore it would typically be categorized as a low bandwidth or slow active suspension. However, results presented in this paper for an SAVGS-retrofitted Grand Tourer show that this technology has the potential to also improve the high frequency suspension functions such as comfort and road holding

Series active variable geometry suspension application to comfort enhancement

This paper explores the potential of the Series Active Variable Geometry Suspension (SAVGS) for comfort and road holding enhancement. The SAVGS concept introduces significant nonlinearities associated with the rotation of the mechanical link that connects the chassis to the spring-damper unit. Although conventional linearization procedures implemented in multi-body software packages can deal with this configuration, they produce linear models of reduced applicability. To overcome this limitation, an alternative linearization approach based on energy conservation principles is proposed and successfully applied to one corner of the car, thus enabling the use of linear robust control techniques. An H∞ controller is synthesized for this simplified quarter-car linear model and tuned based on the singular value decomposition of the system's transfer matrix. The proposed control is thoroughly tested with one-corner and full-vehicle nonlinear multi-body models. In the SAVGS setup, the actuator appears in series with the passive spring-damper and therefore it would typically be categorized as a low bandwidth or slow active suspension. However, results presented in this paper for an SAVGS-retrofitted Grand Tourer show that this technology has the potential to also improve the high frequency suspension functions such as comfort and road holding

The Image of Women Architects in Films, 1912–1943: New Careers and Stereotyped Femininities

Contrary to what might be expected, portrayals of women architects in films can be found as far back as the early decades of the twentieth century. In this article, the authors review a few films released between 1912 and 1943 in which one of the characters is a woman architect, focusing on three of them: Dr. Monica (1934), Woman Chases Man (1937) and The Lamp Still Burns (1943). The article explores the ways in which architecture was used by screenwriters and directors as a suitable vehicle to portray the ‘new woman’, as well as the conflicts that arise when a woman practices a traditionally male profession. It analyses the differences and limitations of these depictions, and the stereotypes regarding femininity that permeated these works of fiction

Tolerance of peppermint to tiafenacil applied postharvest

Trials were conducted in two experimental runs at the Purdue University Horticulture Greenhouses, West Lafayette, IN, to determine ‘Redefined Murray Mitcham’ peppermint tolerance to tiafenacil. Established peppermint in 20-cm-diameter polyethylene pots was subjected to a simulated harvest by removing aboveground biomass at the substrate surface; then, tiafenacil was applied at 0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 g ai ha−1. Visible crop injury, height, and aboveground dry biomass data were subjected to regression analysis to generate predictive models. At 2 wk after treatment (WAT), peppermint injury increased from 63% to 86% and from 25% to 76% in Experimental Run 1 and 2, respectively, as tiafenacil rate increased from 25 to 200 g ha−1. At 4 WAT, injury increased from 0% to 63% and from 4% to 37% in Experimental Run 1 and 2, respectively, as tiafenacil rate increased from 25 to 200 g ha−1. By 7 WAT (both experimental runs), injury increased from 0% to 17% as tiafenacil rate increased from 25 to 200 g ha−1. At 4 WAT, height decreased from 23.0 to 8.6 cm and from 17.6 to 10.3 cm in Experimental Run 1 and 2, respectively, as tiafenacil rate increased from 0 to 200 g ha−1. At 7 WAT, height decreased from 28.1 to 21.4 cm as tiafenacil rate increased from 0 to 200 g ha−1. Aboveground dry weight of the nontreated check was 20.3 g pot−1 and decreased from 19.3 to 7.0 g pot−1 as tiafenacil rate increased from 25 to 200 g ha−1. Despite acute necrosis, injury from tiafenacil at lower rates was not persistent. The proposed 1X rate of tiafenacil for peppermint, 25 g ha−1, resulted in ≤4% injury 4 and 7 WAT and in only a 3% reduction in plant height and a 4.7% reduction in aboveground dry weight compared to the nontreated check