Combined design and robust control of a vehicle passive/active suspension

Abstract

An approach that combines passive and active elements to improve the robustness of a vehicle suspension system with respect to a worst-case scenario is introduced, and leads to a coupled optimisation problem that is often difficult to solve. A sequential strategy that depends on the strength of coupling and optimises the passive elements first, and then the active elements, reduces computational effort. Varying such parameters as level of uncertainty, tyre stiffness, and unsprung mass parameters leads to a relationship between coupling and robustness of the control. Results show that coupling between design and robust control increases as uncertainty increases.