Model reference adaptive control for vehicle active suspension systems

A model reference adaptive control (MRAC) technique for vehicle active suspension subsystems is presented. The MRAC automatically self-tunes the active suspension so that disturbance and vibration of a vehicle is reduced to a level determined by an ideal conceptual suspension reference model. The Lyapunov stability method was used in the design of the MRAC. It is shown that the MRAC suspension can accommodate large variances in sprung load and suspension component characteristics and achieves significant improvements over the passive suspension. Real-time simulation and animation (RTSA) software was developed to provide a visual aid for understanding and interpreting the performance of the MRAC suspension