ADAPTIVE ACTIVE SUSPENSION TO ATTAIN OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE AND MAINTAINSTATIC EQUILIBRIUM LEVEL

An adaptive control approach for an active suspension to deal with a n onlinear time varying (NTV) vehicle-plant1 is discussed. A robust stab le adaptive controller with time varying parameters is designed for co ntrol of an active suspension for a vehicle-plant to obtain near optim al performance and maintain static equilibrium during parametric varia tions. Adaptive control of an active suspension for a NTV single input single output (SISO) vehicle-plant is considered. Adaptive controller based on error augmentation approach of model reference adaptive cont rol (MRAC) with a velocity error term is derived to obtain the optimal performance without a priori knowledge of variations in vehicle-plant parameters. The controller is designed for the first time to maintain static equilibrium irrespective of dynamic load shifts that occur dur ing acceleration and deceleration manoeuvres. Optimal performance betw een good vibration isolation and stability or curving that can be achi eved by this method is illustrated by simulation results. Results for drastic online and nominal parameter variations for deterministic and stochastic input are discussed. A block diagram illustrating the adapt ive controller for practical implementation is also discussed.