Semi-active suspension systems play an important role in achieving comfort, maneuverability, safety and stability in any driving mode in light vehicles. Unlike traditional suspension systems, the inclusion of magneto-rheological, electro-rheological, pneumatic or dry friction dampers make the dynamics of the system more complex, generating discontinuous force behavior, causing an annoying noise known as chattering. However, this effect can be suppressed by the correct application of control techniques. The pressure drop, the position and the relative and absolute speed of the suspended mass are variables that must be considered as well as hysteresis, dead zones, saturation and friction. The selection, design and implementation of a control strategy constitutes a relevant aspect and a challenge for the designer, who seeks to obtain the best mechanical targets, reducing power for the controller.

There are different control strategies which have been extensively studied such as optimal control, which involves optimizing a system using a performance index that obeys the constraints given by the equations of state. It is mainly used when the behavior of the system has uncertainties and is classified as regulated quadratic linear (LQR) and quadratic Gaussian linear (LQG), this last allowing characterizing noise. The second applied control technique is robust control which takes uncertainties into account in mathematical modeling with the aim of separating the system from disturbances. It is key to mention that the robust control allows to incorporate the sensitivity to vibration in different frequency ranges. Adaptive control allows you to automatically configure its properties to operate optimally in a changing environment, thereby reducing vehicle disturbance and vibration to specific levels. Finally, neural control was incorporated, which easily enables the implementation of less expensive sensors in the design of the control strategy system. Its functionality is demonstrated by the application to semi-active suspension systems without requiring a strict knowledge of the dynamics of the system. The performance of these control techniques in the semi-active suspension system is carried out by means of computer simulations in the Matlab/Simulink virtual environment, accompanied by near-reality disturbances to verify the effectiveness of this study.

This article aims to show the design of a semi-active suspension taking the model of a vehicle room, since it offers an adequate representation to control the variations of load in the raids and forces, as well as the selection, design and simulation of the four advanced control strategies mentioned above that allow the best performance of the vehicle, complying with the design parameters of the suspension system and providing a pleasant, safe and reliable experience for the vehicle driver.


Advanced Control Techniques for Semi-Active Suspension Systems

Division / Sponsors: 
Aerospace, Bioengineering, Applied Mechanics, Design Engineering Division, Advanced Energy Systems, Manufacturing Engineering Division, Noise Control and Acoustics, Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Prognosis (NDPD), Nuclear Engineering Division, Process Industries Division, Fluids Engineering, Heat Transfer, Materials, Microelectromechanical Systems, Safety Engineering and Risk Analysis, Computers & Information in Engineering


Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IMECE/IMECE2020/volume/84478

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