Commercial Vehicle Ride Comfort Optimization Based on Intelligent Algorithms and Nonlinear Damping

The method chosen to conduct vehicle dynamic modeling has a significant impact on the evaluation and optimization of ride comfort. This paper summarizes the current modeling methods of ride comfort and their limitations. Then, models based on nonlinear damping and equivalent damping and the multibody dynamic model are developed and simulated in Matlab/Simulink and Adams/Car. The driver seat responses from these models are compared, showing that the accuracy of the ride comfort model based on nonlinear damping is higher than the one based on equivalent damping. To improve the reliability of ride comfort optimization and analysis, a ride comfort optimization method based on nonlinear damping and intelligent algorithms is proposed. The sum of the frequency-weighted RMS of the driver seat acceleration, the RMS of dynamic tyre load, and suspension working space is taken as the objective function in this article, using nonlinear damping coefficients and stiffness of suspension as design variables. By applying the particle swarm optimization (PSO), cuckoo search (CS), dividing rectangles (DIRECT), and genetic algorithm (GA), a set of optimal solutions are obtained. The method efficiency is verified through a comparison between frequency-weighted RMS before and after optimization. Results show that the frequency-weighted RMS of driver seat acceleration, RMS values of the suspension working space of the front and rear axles, and RMS values of the dynamic tyre load of front and rear wheels are decreased by an average of 27.4%, 21.6%, 25.0%, 19.3%, and 22.3%, respectively. The developed model is studied in a pilot commercial vehicle, and the results show that the optimization method proposed in this paper is more practical and features improvement over previous models.