Skyhook damper modification using fuzzy logic control for control effort and NVH reduction

This paper suggests a modified a semi-active vehicle suspension design based on the conventional skyhook damper mechanism. The skyhook algorithm is modified using the fuzzy logic control and a 6D IMU which measures the accelerations and angular rates of the vehicle about its C.G. to observe the vertical velocities of the sprung mass of each corner. Also, the proposed scheme utilizes the spring compression measurements of each tire to estimate the unsprung mass movement. These are combined to maximize the separation performance between the road and the sprung mass, while reducing the overall control effort and chattering that directly relates to vehicle NVH. A confirmatory assessment of the entire system is arranged via simulation scenarios involving an asymmetric vehicle chassis excitation and a sinusoidal excitation of varying frequency with the aid of well-known vehicle simulation tools, CarSim, and Matlab/Simulink.