Skyhook based semi-active control of vehicle suspension with symmetric MR-Damper

A modified skyhook-based semi-active controller is proposed for implementing an asymmetric control suspension design with symmetric MR dampers. The controller is formulated in current form and further modulated by integrating a continuous modulation and an asymmetric damping force generation algorithms, so as to effectively minimize the switching and hysteresis effects. The relative response characteristics of the proposed controller are evaluated in terms of defined performance measures under harmonic, rounded pulse and random excitations. The sensitivity of the semi-active suspension performance to variations in operating load and controller parameters are further evaluated. The results illustrate that the proposed skyhook-based asymmetric semi-active MR-suspension has superior robustness and can achieve desirable multi-body vehicle suspension performances.