Sensitivity analysis on skyhook and semi active damping force algorithms in semi active suspension system

This paper presents the comparative study on semi active suspension controlled by Skyhook and Semi Active Damping Force Estimator (SADE) algorithms. The damping element used in the semi active suspension is a commercial magnetorheological (MR) damper, produced by Delphi Automotive PLC. The performance of the magnetorheological semi-active suspension system is controlled both by the Skyhook and SADE algorithms and are evaluated in comparison with the normal suspension system, which act as a benchmark. The study is focusing on the effects of the parameter values used in skyhook and SADE algorithm on vehicle's ride comfort performances. The studied aspects are the overall ride comfort performance, current consumptions used by the MR damper, as well as the force tracking error. The vehicle ride comfort performances are evaluated based on the vehicle's vertical motions (jerk, acceleration, displacement) and pitch motions (pitch rate and pitch angle). It is shown that magnetorheological semiactive suspension system controlled both by the Skyhook and SADE systems are able to improve vehicle's ride comfort significantly compared to passive suspension (50.7 percent and 48.6 percent respectively), with the SADE system performance is just 2.1 percent less than the Skyhook system performance.