Optimal Control of an Active Suspension System Applying Distributed Parameter Simulation Test

Abstract

Automotive is one of the most important industries in the world, which lead to a need for continuous improvement of vehicles and their internal systems. Suspension systems have been improved for better vehicle performance and passenger comfort, keeping the tire in contact with the road surface. Active suspensions require optimal control to modulate the flow of energy and generate the control force by implementing active actuators able to provide negative damping and a wider range of forces and velocities. This article aims the design of an active suspension system based on LQG and LQR controller evaluating its performance in a distributed parameters simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics® and MATLAB®. The quarter car model is proposed and is linearized to design the optimal control (LQG and LQR) respectively. An early mathematical simulation is developed in MATLAB (R) software to verify and compare the open and closed loop results. Finally, the full system model is implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics (R) software considering rigid materials and the controller to analyze the distributed parameters simulation results.