Active suspension system based on linear switched reluctance actuator and control schemes

In this paper, an active suspension system utilizing a low-cost high-performance linear switched reluctance actuator with proportional- derivative (PD) control is presented. With the tracking differentiator (TD) calculating the displacement and its derivatives directly under the presence of noise, velocity and acceleration can be evaluated, and accurate position control can be achieved. Comparison is made between linear and nonlinear PD control methods in terms of various system parameters and road profiles. A nonlinear PD controller with better dynamic responses is evaluated and developed for real-time suspension application. The proposed PD control schemes are simulated, tested, and analyzed to prove its robustness and reliability. Finally, a quarter-car active suspension system prototype is built to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control schemes with experiment results.