Adaptive Suspension of Vehicles Using Piezoelectric Sensors

Abstract

A comprehensive theory for sensing deflections in helical compression springs and multi-leaf curved bar springs using piezoelectric copolymer film is developed and presented. This sensing capability is applied to the problem of sensing ground roughness in adaptive damping vehicular suspensions. A computer simulation of a vehicle equipped with an adaptive suspension system incorporating spring deflection sensors which is traveling over randomly rough surface is performed using MATLAB's SIMULINK module. A new algorithm for processing the sensor output and adapting the damping force to road conditions is presented and shown to be insensitive to sensor noise. The control algorithm is realized in SIMULINK, and the surface is simulated by a specifically designed random signal. The adaptive damping is shown to dramatically reduce inertial forces acting on the vehicle during travel over rough surfaces.

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