Adaptive Semi-Active Suspension Design Using Gain-Scheduling*

A novel approach to design a road adaptive semi-active suspension is proposed. Two scheduling parameters are considered: the road frequency and the type of road. A single corner vehicle model with a nonlinear dynamic model of the semi-active damper is considered. The suspension deflection and its derivative are used as feedback signals. Nonlinear simulations show that an adaptive suspension controller: Frequency-Estimation-Based with road Adaptation (FEBA) provides better comfort and road holding over different types of road. The improvement of the performance ranges from 5-10%.