Advanced active disturbance rejection control based on a sliding mode control mechanism for an active suspension system

Purpose In this article, we present a nonlinear control algorithm for the suspension system to improve ride comfort and eliminate the influence of road disturbances. Design/methodology/approach The proposed algorithm is formed based on sliding mode control and active disturbance rejection control. The final control signal is synthesized from two component signals using a nonlinear function, ensuring stability according to the Lyapunov criteria. This is considered a new contribution to the article. Numerical simulations are performed in three specific cases corresponding to three types of road disturbances. Findings According to the simulation results, the proposed algorithm performs better in reducing vehicle body displacement, speed, and acceleration than other traditional control methods. The observed signals closely follow the actual signals with negligible root mean square errors (no more than 1.4 mm for an augmented variable and no more than 5% for remaining state variables). In addition, the chattering phenomenon is almost completely suppressed even when the proposed algorithm is formulated based on the sliding mode mechanism. Originality/value The vehicle vibration is effectively controlled in three investigated cases, which is the basis for demonstrating the algorithm’s performance introduced in this work.