Control of a regenerative suspension system utilizing a three-phase bidirectional converter

This paper presents the development of a novel control strategy for an energy regenerative suspension mechanism. The semi-active suspension system consists of a mass-spring unit coupled with a linear permanent magnet machine and a three-phase boost converter connected to a battery. A skyhook controller is developed to provide energy transfer from the damping system to the battery. Enforcing resistive behavior across the linear machine terminals produces the same effect as controlling the mechanical damping of the suspension system. Sliding mode control approach is utilized to design the controller for the system. Numerical simulation results are presented that evaluate performance of the proposed control strategy and semi-active damping. Experimental study of the controller on a regenerative suspension system is currently under investigation.