Mix-1-sensor: A control strategy for semi-active suspension

The topic of this paper is the design and analysis of a control strategy for semiactive suspensions in road vehicles. Currently used closed-loop control strategies (like the Sky-Hook damping) require at least two sensors for each suspension. In this paper a simple but very innovative algorithm is proposed, capable of providing quasi-optimal performance using a single accelerometer. The starting point of this work is the mix Sky- Hook Acceleration-Driven-Damper control algorithm, which has been recently developed and proposed. Starting from that idea, the single-sensor algorithm is derived. This algorithm pays a little performance price with respect to the mix SH-ADD algorithm, while guaranteeing cost-reduction and augmented reliability. In this work the theoretical development is complemented with extensive simulation results using a 2-wheels vehicle simulator comprising an accurate modelling of the semi-active dampers. Some final experimental results are also provided.