Car Attitude Control by Series Mechatronic Suspension

Abstract This paper investigates the potential of the Series Active Variable Geometry Suspension (SAVGS) to control chassis roll and pitch motions during cornering and combined cornering and braking events. A cascaded control scheme that drives the four actuators (one per wheel) independently and respects all physical and design limitations is presented. The control system is thereafter applied to a specific SAVGS configuration and tested through nonlinear simulation of a full vehicle model of a generic high performance sports car. A wide set of simulation results corresponding to standard open loop maneuvers is shown, providing insight on the performance of the SAVGS, its requirements, operation, and influence on the directional response of the vehicle. These results suggest that the SAVGS is well suited to controlling chassis attitude motions in this class of vehicles.