The design of an active suspension force controller using genetic algorithms with maximum stroke constraints

Abstract

A novel control scheme is proposed for force control in an active vehicle suspension design using genetic algorithms with a half-car model. The new approach incorporates the constraints of maximum suspension strokes in the objective function to evaluate the compactness of the suspension working space, as opposed to the traditional integral quadratic form of suspension displacement. Genetic algorithms are employed in the design to obtain a more effective search for optimum control parameters. Force cancellation, virtual damper, skyhook damper and road-following concepts are employed in the scheme to achieve a satisfactory performance. Computer simulations are performed to verify the proposed control scheme.