Static output-feedback control for vehicle suspensions: a single-step linear matrix inequality approach

Abstract

In this paper, a new strategy to design static output-feedback controllers for a class of vehicle suspension systems is presented. A theoretical background on recent advances in output-feedback control is first provided, which makes possible an effective synthesis of static output-feedback controllers by solving a single linear matrix inequality optimization problem. Next, a simplified model of a quarter-car suspension system is proposed, taking the ride comfort, suspension stroke, road holding ability, and control effort as the main performance criteria in the vehicle suspension design. The new approach is then used to design a static output-feedback controller that only uses the suspension deflection and the sprung mass velocity as feedback information. Numerical simulations indicate that, despite the restricted feedback information, this static output-feedback controller exhibits an excellent behavior in terms of both frequency and time responses, when compared with the corresponding state-feedback controller.