Development and implementation of an advanced robust control strategy for quarter-car active suspension systems

This study investigates the development of an advanced robust control strategy for a quarter-car active suspension system to optimize ride comfort and road handling. Traditional PID controllers struggle with trade-offs between comfort and stability under real-world conditions like variable road profiles and parametric uncertainties. To address this, we propose a novel H∞ robust control integrated with μ-synthesis, explicitly handling uncertainties in suspension parameters (sprung/unsprung mass, stiffness, damping, tire stiffness). Mathematical modeling and MATLAB/Simulink simulations demonstrate significant improvements: a 54% reduction in peak vertical body acceleration (3.95 m/s 2 to 1.816 m/s 2 ) and a 35% decrease in suspension deflection (0.078 m to 0.020 m) compared to passive systems. Frequency-domain analysis shows a 92.42% reduction in resonance peaks at 10 rad/s, with over 30% energy savings. Time-domain simulations confirm stability under transient disturbances, with actuator forces constrained to ±1.3 kN. The integration of μ-synthesis with H∞ control efficiently manages parametric variations and unmodeled dynamics. Comparative evaluations highlight the approach’s superiority over passive and conventional active systems, offering promising applications for autonomous and electric vehicles. This work lays the groundwork for future research on adaptive, energy-efficient suspension systems.