| The control of a vehicle suspension is of great interest to control engineers due to its classic model structure, vibratory modes, and response. Despite being such a widely studied system, most vehicle suspensions today still employ passive suspensions comprised of mechanical springs and dampers. This investigation is conducted to determine the feasibility and value of using model reference adaptive control in combination with voice coil (linear motor) actuators. In particular, voice coils are well known for their low hysteresis, and with the use of an appropriate controller may be able to improve ride quality along stretches of road when encountering small signal disturbances as is typical of highways and city streets where road frequencies are varied and are have an RMS value 0.17 inches (0.43 cm) in amplitude. Substantially improved results can occur using MRAC over classical control methods when the Laplace transform plant is substituted by the full simulation to obtain states, especially when MRAC and a tuned PID controller are used in concert. When acceleration control is used with MRAC, ride comfort is improved drastically, however the control effort required to maintain such control is extensive. |
