Semi-Active Control of a Suspension System with a MR Damper of a Large-sized Bus

In this work, the semi-active control of a large-sized bus suspension system with an MR damper was studied. An MR damper model that can aptly describe the hysteretic characteristics of an MR damper was adopted. Parameter values of the MR damper model were suitably modified by considering the maximum damping force of a passive damper used in the suspension system of a real large-sized bus. In addition, a fuzzy logic controller was developed for semi-active control of a suspension system with an MR damper. The vertical acceleration at the attachment point of the MR damper and the relative velocity between sprung and unsprung masses were used as input variables, while voltage was used as the output variable. Straight-ahead driving simulations were performed on a road with a random road profile and on a flat road with a bump. In straight-ahead driving simulations, the vertical acceleration and pitch angle were measured to compare the riding performance of a suspension system with a passive damper with that of a suspension with an MR damper. In addition, a single lane change simulation was performed. In the simulation, the lateral acceleration and roll angle were measured in order to compare the handling performance of a suspension system using a passive damper with that of a suspension system using an MR damper.