Managing the handling–comfort contradiction of a quarter-car system using Kalman filter

Abstract

This article introduces a new approach to manage the “handling–comfort” contradiction of a vehicle suspension system. The idea is based on determining a specific time constant that reflects the percentage of suspension damping. This time constant is defined using the measurement of the sprung mass acceleration and the suspension deflection. A distinction is made between the control unit design for a semi-active suspension system and the control unit design for an active suspension system. The semi-active design is based on two sensors and a Kalman filter (KF), while the active design is based on three sensors and a dual-estimation KF. For active suspension, a third sensor was added to measure the acceleration of the unsprung mass. Simulation is carried out in Simulink and Simscape environments. The results of the proposed approach were compared with the results achieved by the hybrid-hook system. Simulation results showed a better efficiency of the proposed approach in driving safety during a “comfort” situation.