Multiobjective Control Strategies of a Novel Multifunction Electrically Interconnected Suspension

Abstract

Vehicle vibration from the road significantly affects ride comfort and vehicle handling; on the other hand, the considerable energy in the vibration process shows potential for energy saving, especially for electric vehicles. In this article, we propose a novel multifunction electrically interconnected suspension (MFEIS) that utilizes two H-bridge circuits to control the energy flow. The novel suspension can operate in three modes, i.e., semiactive mode, energy-harvesting mode, and self-powered mode. Thus, the vehicle suspension can reduce vibration and harvest energy at the same time. The energy flow and detailed control procedures of each mode are studied, respectively. Based on the characteristics of each working mode, we propose two multiobjective control strategies to balance ride comfort and energy recovery performance of the MFEIS by switching the suspension working modes. An active vibration control algorithm is used to obtain the ideal control current for reducing vibration. The multiobjective control strategies, with different current tracking methods, are used to make the MFEIS generating currents that can track the ideal current. Furthermore, simulation and experimental results show that the proposed control strategies have advantages in ride comfort improvement and energy harvesting. The MFEIS can harvest energy from vibration and apply the harvested energy to suppress vibration, which has great potential in future applications.