Active Suspension Control of Ground Vehicle Heave and Pitch Motions

Ride quality depends on a combination of vertical displacement (heave) and angular displacement (pitch). Road irregularities are the main factor affecting ride comfort. Suspension elements between the road wheels and the vehicle body generate vertical forces which excite both heave and pitch motions. An active controller design based on time-scale separation and an "input decoupling transformation" is given. It is shown to give better performance that conventional passive suspension control. *Research supported by ARO Grant 39657-MA and Davis Technologies International, Inc. Email: jcampos@arrirs04.uta.edu.