Optimal Hardware and Control Co-Design Applied to an Active Car Suspension Setup

Michiel Haemers,Clara-Mihaela Ionescu,Kurt Stockman,Stijn Derammelaere

doi:10.3390/machines9030055

Michiel Haemers, Clara-Mihaela Ionescu + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/machines9030055

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Abstract

For complex systems, it is not easy to obtain optimal designs for the hardware architecture and control configurations. Every design aspect influences the final performance, and often the interactions of the different components cannot be clearly determined in advance. In this work, a novel co-design optimization method was applied that allows the optimal placement and selection of actuators and sensors to be performed simultaneously with the determination of the control architecture and associated controller tuning parameters. This novel co-design method was applied to a state-space model of a downscaled active car suspension laboratory setup. This setup mimics a car driving over a specific road surface while active components in the suspension have to increase the driver’s comfort by counteracting unwanted vibrations. The result of this co-design optimization methodology is a Pareto front that graphically represents the trade-off between the maximum performance and the total implementation cost; the co-design results were validated with measurements of the physical active car suspension setup. The obtained controller tuning parameters are compared herein with existing controller tuning methods to demonstrate that the co-design method is able to determine optimal controller tuning parameters.

Highlights

Multi-domain engineering is becoming increasingly important in the development of modern products and machines
The mechanical engineer will try to make the correct choices of hardware components based on some assumptions regarding the performance to be achieved and the total implementation costs
A novel co-design optimization methodology was applied to an active car suspension laboratory setup

Summary

Introduction

Multi-domain engineering is becoming increasingly important in the development of modern products and machines. The design of such complex systems has become a comprehensive design challenge. The different domains of system design are addressed sequentially and separately. A choice is made on the location of actuators and sensors and which parts of the system are correspondingly measured or controlled. The control engineer designs a control configuration for the fixed hardware architecture. The application of different control architecture features can be considered, while corresponding controller tuning parameters must be determined. In contrast to the mechanical engineer, the control engineer uses different objectives, such as system stability, reference tracking properties, and disturbance rejection

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Conclusion