LORD Corporation Awarded Contract for MR Suspension Installation and Test on U.S. Army LMTV

CARY, N.C., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- LORD Corporation – a leader in the management of vibration, motion and noise – has teamed with World Technical Services, Inc. (WTSI) for the integration, test and evaluation of a suspension upgrade including their Magneto-Rheological (MR) semi-active damping system for a US Army M1078 Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV).

The contract is part of a larger effort by the prime contractor, WTSI, to improve mobility performance of the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV). LORD is one of several suppliers of suspension enhancements being evaluated in this effort.  The Government does not endorse or support one supplier over the others and will be evaluating all equally.  LORD has not to date been chosen for production product. The purpose of the 12-month LORD contract is to install and test the MR Damping system as well as to fully optimize the system control algorithms, while determining optimal leaf spring and torsion-bar configurations. On- and off-road as well as durability testing will be conducted by third-parties including half-rounds, various profiled Root Means Square (RMS) courses, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) lane change maneuvers.  These tests are designed to determine actual performance improvements compared to the baseline configuration and will include up to 10,000 miles of endurance and durability testing.

LORD is the technical lead on the MR Suspension project, with responsibility to perform modeling and simulation analyses, hardware build, design integration, installation and testing oversight. Suspension optimization support also will be provided by MillenWorks, a privately-owned small business serving the defense, automotive OEM, and entertainment industries. Further, LORD will provide maintenance support during the vehicle testing of the MR suspension system hardware, which will be subjected to endurance tests per the vehicle mission profile and as defined in the vehicle specification.

According to Steve Hildebrand, LORD Engineering Manager for MR Suspension systems, the system will incorporate LORD Corporation's latest refinements with respect to the magneto-rheological controllable damping system. The system includes a controller, dampers, sensors, and software that is customized for a vehicle's characteristics and customer's performance requirements.

The MR controllable damping systems have been demonstrated as original and retrofit equipment for various military and commercial utility vehicles. Current vehicle applications for the Department of Defense (DOD) and OEMs include several Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs), the HMMWV and other confidential customer platforms.  

"LORD MR Active Damping Systems are well-suited for a broad range of military applications, from lightweight tactical vehicles to line-haul tractors and heavy MRAP vehicles," said Hildebrand. "These systems have already been demonstrated on a wide variety of military vehicles and the results are positive. Vehicles outfitted with our system experience less wear and tear, leading to longer vehicle life without reducing fuel efficiency. Our product enables greater stability and vehicle body control, allowing increased safety for the driver and occupants, and significantly improved ride quality."  

Unlike traditional passive dampers with fixed characteristics, LORD Corporation's MR Dampers with patented self-adapting control algorithms are fully adaptive and react nearly instantaneously to changes in terrain, vehicle maneuvers and payload. Further, MR Controllable Damping Systems enable simplified suspension geometries with weight reduction and increased payload without reducing mobility. In fact, according to Hildebrand, one recent application demonstrated doubling of the payload.

"The resulting improved dynamic stability and ride quality have demonstrated significant benefits to our warfighters," said Jesse DePriest, LORD Business Development Manager.

Proven Technology

LORD Corporation's MR technology has been proven through the licensing and broad intellectual property portfolio used in developing Delphi's MagneRide™ suspension system. First introduced on the 2002 Corvette, the system now appears on more than 500,000 devices in more than a dozen models from multiple OEMs including Audi, Acura, Ferrari, GM, Holden and Honda. The rapid acceptance of the technology by a wide range of manufacturers, from high-performance sports cars to SUVs, demonstrates the confidence the automotive industry has in the performance, reliability and durability of LORD MR technology.

In recent lab tests conducted by LORD, MR dampers for the HMMWV and other military vehicles surpassed 5-million cycles of durability testing, greatly exceeding the U.S. government's requirement with no degradation of the MR fluid.  In addition, up to 30,000 miles of off-road durability testing has been demonstrated through the full vehicle temperature range, also without degradation of the MR fluid.

In a related effort, LORD has completed qualification testing of the MR Damper System Controller. The full MIL-Spec rated controller is designed to accommodate any vehicle, wheeled or tracked, 4x4 up to 8x8 wheel-ends with one standardized box. The controller is ruggedized to meet harsh environmental conditions for both military and demanding commercial applications including MIL-STD-1275 Power Quality, MIL-STD-461 EMC/EMI and MIL-STD-810 Environmental Factors. Further, the controller is capable of a 60-inch vehicle fording depth, the connectors are MIL-DTL-38999 compliant, and the system is J1939 data bus compatible.  

LORD has been designing and testing production-intent MR damper systems built for the needs of military and heavy commercial vehicles for several years.  According to DePriest, support from the Michigan and North Carolina Congressional Delegations as well as the U.S. Army's Tank and Automotive Command (TACOM) and the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) organizations has been critical in transitioning this commercial dual-use, strategic technology to address the military's ground vehicle mobility needs. Further, in response to market interest for their MR suspension system, LORD recently completed the expansion of a 1,000-square-foot production cell within their Cambridge Springs, Pa. plant. The cell is believed to be the first of its kind related to heavy-duty MR dampers for military and heavy trucks in the world.  

LORD is currently completing initial performance testing with excellent results and will enter durability testing next month.  Lord expects to complete up to 15,000 miles of durability testing before the end of the summer.  

About LORD Corporation

LORD MR technology is based on commercial proprietary and patented fluid, damper, mount, brake and clutch designs and sophisticated computer-controlled algorithms. When exposed to a magnetic field, MR fluids change from liquid to near solid instantaneously, with complete reversibility. As a result, MR technology provides fast and infinitely variable control of energy dissipation for industrial and automotive devices. As the only provider of commercial MR fluids with more than 110 MR fluid, device, and controller algorithm patents worldwide, LORD is the largest manufacturer of MR devices and systems.  For information about LORD MR applications, visit www.lord.com/mr.

With headquarters in Cary, N.C., USA, and sales in excess of  $700-MM, LORD Corporation is a privately-held company that designs, manufactures and markets devices and systems to manage mechanical motion, and control noise and vibration; formulates, produces and sells general purpose and specialty adhesives and coatings; and develops products and systems utilizing magnetically responsive technologies. With manufacturing in nine countries and offices in more than 15 major business centers, LORD Corporation employs more than 2,500 worldwide. Visit www.lord.com for more information. 

Contact:  Kimberly Kayler, 614-873-6706 or [email protected]

SOURCE LORD Corporation