Development of enhanced active damping system for the Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV)

A semi-active suspension upgrade kit for the SOCOM up-armored HMWWV will be developed that will achieve comparable performance for the entire weight range of a GMV: 8300lbs curb weight to 14,500lbs combat loaded. The baseline performance requirement is equivalent handling, stability and ride quality as an M1113 HMMWV at rated GVW. A dynamic model that incorporates the semi-active suspension into a full body HMMWV model will be used to validate the performance benefits predicted in Phase I. Extensive performance and durability testing will be conducted on both laboratory test rigs and road courses. A Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) will be conducted to identify potential faults and generate strategies for fault mitigation. Operator feedback methodology as well as diagnostics tools for use by maintenance personnel will be developed based on the FMEA. A redesign for production effort will provide a means of incorporating feedback from testing and the FMEA into the final production ready design as well as examining the prototype design for weight, complexity and cost reduction. An economic analysis will be performed to predict the total life cycle costs for both new vehicle builds and retrofit installations.