Design and Realization of an Adjustable Fluid Powered Piston for an Active Air Spring

In this paper, we present a new compact hydraulic linear actuator. The concept is developed to change the rolling piston diameter of an active air spring during usage. By doing so, the air spring can actively apply pressure and tension forces. The actuator is designed for small movements at high forces. It is insensitive to side forces, which are introduced by the bellows rolling on the rolling piston of the air spring. A diaphragm sealing is used to minimize friction. Hence a precise adjustment of small displacements at high dynamics is possible and the system is completely leakage-free. We describe the design and development of this actuator and show first measurement results from preliminary tests to show its functionality.