Controller Development for Magneto-Rheological Semi-Active Suspension System to Improve Vehicle Safety

Abstract

Vehicle suspension system would complement vehicle safety in terms of ride comfort, handling and braking, and also isolation from road irregularities. This can be better achieved by introducing a semi-active suspension system where the magneto-rheological (MR) fluid is used to manipulate its damping characteristics. This paper explains the controller development for MR semi-active suspension system. The process started by developing the non-parametric linearized data driven (NPLDD) double input with proportional-integral (PI) controller as an inner loop algorithm for MR damper modelling and force tracking control; then, Improved PI controller as an outer loop control algorithm for vehicle response improvement, and finally validation work using quarter-car test bench. All the algorithm development is based on Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (PROTON) vehicle characteristics and specifications. From the simulation results, it is verified that the NPLDD double input model together with the PI control strategy has the capability to track the desired damping force well. Meanwhile, the Improved PI controller for the outer loop is capable to reduce the magnitude of vehicle body acceleration and displacement. The validation at the quarter-car test bench also shows significant reduction of these two parameters. As a result, the PI controller for the MR semi-active suspension system is found sufficient for vehicle safety improvement.