Energy-driven-damper (EDD): Comfort-oriented semiactive suspensions optimized from an energy perspective

This brief reports that comfort performance of semiactive suspensions can be optimized by building a controller driven by the kinetic energy of the sprung mass. By solving a linear quadratic regulator problem pursuing minimal energy input and maximal energy output, the energy-driven-damper (EDD) controller is proposed. An insightful interpretation from an energy point of view is given, which helps to reveal the design mechanism of an optimal semiactive suspension controller. Using the most-used Skyhook (SH), acceleration-driven damper (ADD), and mixed SHADD as the benchmark, the effectiveness and superiority of EDD are elucidated based on CarSim-MATLAB cosimulations, where a nonlinear magnetorheological (MR) damper model is adopted.