Integrated control design for vehicle semi-active suspension system with variable stiffness stabilizer

There is a trade-off between ride comfort and driving stability in passive suspensions for vehicles. Many studies have been done on improving ride comfort and driving stability. Semi-active suspension systems with variable dampers and variable stiffness stabilizers have attracted much attention recently due to their low cost, low energy use, and safety. Several systems have been put into practical use so far. However there is a possibility that these devices interfere in each other, because these devices are separately controlled. Therefore, it is desirable that variable dampers and variable stiffness stabilizers are controlled by an integrated control design method for suspension system. This study aims at establishing the integrated control design method for the semi-active suspension system which consists of variable dampers and variable stiffness stabilizers in order to improve ride comfort and driving stability. The computer simulations weree carried out to verify the availability of the proposed control.