Experimental Comparison of Passive, Semi-Active On/Off, and Semi-Active Continuous Suspensions

Much computer simulation work has been conducted on various kinds of semi-active suspensions composed of linear components and linear damping. These results show broad improvements over passive suspensions, but there has been little experimental data for verification. In order to verify conclusions drawn from simulations, experiments were conducted on a quarter-car apparatus in the two degree-of-freedom mode. A force controlled damper was built to produce the force of any one of many different dampers and control policies. The physical system is compared to a computer model for the following responses: RMS acceleration of the sprung mass, RMS suspension travel, RMS tire contact force, and percent overshoot. The trends in the experimental results agree with those in the simulations.