Kalman filter based sensorless control of a tubular permament magnet machine for active vehicle suspension

This paper describes Kalman filter based sensorless control of a linear tubular permanent magnet (PM) machine for active vehicle suspension. A compact strut design is realised by integrating a coil spring into a high force density tubular PM machine, and sensorless control of the actuation force is achieved by employing an extended Kalman filtering technique. The issues pertinent to the design of the Kalman filter are discussed, and utility and effectiveness of the sensorless operation are demonstrated by extensive simulations of the vehicle suspension system with measured real road data.