Pro-active optimal control for semi-active vehicle suspension based on sensitivity updates

This article suggests a strategy to control semi-active suspensions of vehicles in a pro-active way to adapt to future road profiles. The control strategy aims to maximise comfort while maintaining good handling properties. It employs suitably defined optimal control problems in combination with a parametric sensitivity analysis. The optimal control techniques are used to optimise the time-dependent damper coefficients in an electro-rheological damper for given nominal road profiles. The parametric sensitivity analysis is used to adapt the computed nominal optimal controls to perturbed road profiles in real time. The method is particularly useful for events with a low excitation frequency such as ramps, bumps, or potholes. For high-frequency excitations standard controllers are preferable; so we propose a switched open-closed-loop controller design. Various examples demonstrate the performance of the approach.