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Selection of Sensors for

Hydro-Active Suspension System


of Passenger Car With
Input–Output Pairing
Ehsan Sarshari
M.S. Student
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Considerations
K. N. Toosi University of Technology, With respect to weight, energy consumption, and cost constraints, hydro-active suspen-
Tehran 19991–43344, Iran sion system is a suitable choice for improving vehicle ride comfort while keeping its han-
e-mail: ehsan.sarshari@gmail.com dling. The aim of sensors selection is determining number, location, and type of sensors,
which are the best for control purposes. Selection of sensors is related to the selection of
Ali Khaki Sedigh measured variables (outputs). Outputs selection may limit performance and also affect
Professor reliability and complexity of control systems. In the meanwhile, hardware, implementa-
Department of Electrical tion, maintenance, and repairing costs can be affected by this issue. In this study, system-
and Computer Engineering, atic methods for selecting the viable outputs for hydro-active suspension system of a
K. N. Toosi University of Technology, passenger car are implemented. Having joint robust stability and nominal performance
Tehran 16315–1355, Iran of the closed loop is the main idea in this selection. In addition, it is very important to use
e-mail: sedigh@kntu.ac.ir these methods as a complementation for system physical insights, not supersedes. So, in
the first place the system is described and the main ideas in ride comfort control are
addressed. An 8 degrees of freedom model of vehicle with passive suspension system is
derived and validated. Both linear and nonlinear models of the car which is equipped
with hydro-active subsystem are derived. After selecting the outputs, for benefiting from
minimum loop interactions, the control configuration is systematically determined. The
main goal of selecting control configuration is assessing the possibility of achieving a
decentralized control configuration. Finally, the system behavior is controlled by a
decentralized proportional–integral–differential (PID) controller. The results indicate
the efficiency of the controlled hydro-active suspension system in comparison with the
passive system. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4006625]

1 Introduction reliability, hardware, implementation, and maintenance costs. An


improper control configuration selection can also cause closed
All control design methods can be interpreted by general control
loop instability or its weak performance. In a decentralized control
system setup shown in Fig. 1. Dealing with difference between em-
system, disturbance effects and closed loop stability in the face of
pirical and theoretical results of control design methods is not a
loop errors are affected by control configuration selection.
new issue. In Refs. [1] and [2] is stated that the main reason for this
In the cases in which there are only few numbers of input–-
difference is the lack of theoretical systematic approaches to select
output candidate sets or the viable input–output set is expressly
the control structure. Thereafter, in Ref. [3] a comprehensive defini-
known by the control goals, there is no need to use input–output
tion of control structure was presented. In Ref. [3], answer to four
selection methods. But when the number of input–output candi-
structural questions which relate to control system setup is
date sets is high, usage of systematic input–output selection meth-
addressed as control structure selection. In other words, assessing
ods is inevitable to avoid neglecting the viable candidate set. The
which input variables (U) and output variables (Y and Z) are suita-
number of candidate sets exponentially increases with increasing
ble for control purposes (input–output selection) and which links
in the number of candidate inputs and outputs.
should be established between them (control configuration selec-
Eight characteristics which a suitable input–output selection
tion) are the main issues in control structure selection.
method should have are presented in Refs. [5–7]. In Ref. [7], these
In comparison with other control design steps, a little attention
characteristics are used as a criterion for assessing the available
has been paid to control structure selection. However, a nonviable
methods and a guideline for developing new methods. A review
selection of input–output sets can cause fundamental limitations
of control structure selection methods is presented in Ref. [8]
in system achievable performance. For instance, some specific
under the name of plantwide control. The researchers have sug-
input–output sets may result in right half plane (RHP) zeros. This
gested that more attention should be paid to sensors type and
redounds decreasing in closed loop bandwidth. System zeros by
state or output feedback and pre- or postdynamic or static com-
pensating cannot be assigned. Therefore, such limitations in sys-
tem performance cannot be repaired even with advanced control
methods [4]. In addition, input–output sets determine issues like

Contributed by the Dynamic Systems Division of ASME for publication in the


JOURNAL OF DYNAMIC SYSTEMS, MEASUREMENT, AND CONTROL. Manuscript received
October 24, 2010; final manuscript received March 9, 2012; published online Octo-
ber 30, 2012. Assoc. Editor: Douglas Adams. Fig. 1 General control system setup

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location selection. In Ref. [9], some corresponding author’s ideas
about control structure selection are summarized and described
clearly. Controlled variables selection such that the system has
self optimizing control property is presented in Ref. [10]. Control
structure selection with respect to economics is emphasized in
Ref. [11]. In Ref. [12], control structure selection methods which
base on process are studied. A comprehensive study on control
configuration selection methods is presented in Ref. [13].
In chemical plants, there are lots of candidate variables. There-
fore, the most application of control structure selection methods
has been in process control area. Systems such as distillation col-
umn, boiler, and reactor are widely studied, e.g., respectively, in
Refs. [14], [15], and [16]. Control structure selection methods are
used in Ref. [17] for airplanes and spacecrafts. Some other appli-
cations of control structure selection methods also exist. For
instance in Ref. [18], the assignment of actuators is studied for a
paper machine.
Development of intelligent suspension systems has been one of
the most important issues in vehicle design area, especially in the
two past decades. Most of these studies have been limited to com-
pare the performance of an intelligent suspension system to that of
passive ones, e.g., the studies in Refs. [19–26]. In Ref. [27],
besides developing a semi-active suspension system, its perform- Fig. 2 Schematic of hydro-active damper, showing the oil flow
ance is compared with that of the same passive and the fully during the rebound stroke
active systems. However, control structure selection is rarely stud-
ied for suspension systems. The studies in Refs. [28–30] are in valve (CVDTV). Figure 2 shows the schematic of the hydro-
this group. In Ref. [28], without using any systematic approach, active damper and how it acts during the rebound stroke.
the optimized assignment of the actuators is addressed for suspen- According to Fig. 2, the rod moves outward of the cylinder dur-
sion system. To do this, controller design has been done for each ing the rebound stroke while the piston check valve is closed. The
candidate assignment and finally the results have been assessed to amount of oil which can enter the accumulator from the upper
achieve the optimized assignment. By considering the uncertain- chamber depends on the regulations of the CVDTV. So, the damp-
ties, sensor and actuator selection has been done for a tractor–- ing force can vary in the rebound stroke by means of regulating
semitrailer suspension system in Refs. [29] and [30]. Controller the CVDTV. In the bound stroke, the rod moves inward the cylin-
design has not been addressed in these two studies. For suspension der. The regulation of the CVDTV results in a pressure increase
systems, actuator and sensor selection is usually done based on of the oil reserved in the accumulator. This causes the bottom
physical insight, cost, and structural issues. For example, in Refs. chamber to be fulfilled with high pressure oil and subsequently
[27], [31], and [32] with respect to vehicle structural limitations, the pressure difference forces the rod to move outward, while the
the stronger actuators have been placed in the rear suspension. oil is flowing through the piston check valve.
Selection of measured variables (not controlled variables) and Continuously variable damper throttle valve consists of con-
control configuration selection for hydro-active suspension system stant and variable orifices. The task of the variable orifice is regu-
of a passenger car are the main subjects of this study. The main lating the pilot chamber pressure. The acting mechanism is
idea to do this is achieving of the closed loop system to joint ro- described in the following. The input to the solenoid is an electri-
bust stability and nominal performance. cal current that is the output of the controller. Depending on the
The system is described first. In following, modeling the system amount of this current, the solenoid manipulates a magnetic field
and validating the model besides describing the sensors are done. by which the position of the plunger is regulated. Thus, the posi-
Then, selection of the measured variables and control configura- tion of the plunger affects the oil flow and consequently the pilot
tion selection are addressed. At last, a decentralized PID control- chamber pressure.
ler is designed.
3 Mathematical Model of the Vehicle
2 System Description
Suspension system has a main role in isolation of passengers and 3.1 Mathematical Model of the Vehicle With Passive
chassis in the face of road roughness. Desired ride comfort, reason- Suspension. Figure 3 displays the 8 degrees of freedom physical
able suspension displacement, and acceptable handling characteris- model of the vehicle. The model consists of body, two axles, and
tics represent appropriate performance of a suspension system. driver’s seat. Bounce, pitch, and roll represent motions of the
In fully active suspensions, stiffness and damping coefficients body. Each of the axles has their own bouncing motion. Yaw
are variable; while in semi-active suspensions, only damping coeffi- motion of the body is neglected due to its small amount, and the
cient varies. A vast majority range of semi-active dampers exists. driver’s seat is supposed to vibrate just in the vertical direction.
In Ref. [27], different types of these dampers are introduced and System parameters are selected to be equal to those of Ref. [20]
compared. In this study, a semi-active suspension system is devel- for validation purposes. According to Fig. 3, kinetic and potential
oped for a passenger car. To do this, conventional passive dampers energies and damping function of the system are derived. Equations
are replaced with hydro-active dampers. Thus, this semi-active sus- of motion are derived by substituting them in Lagrange’s equation
pension is hereafter called hydro-active suspension in this paper. In and presented in Ref. [21]. Validation of the model is performed
Ref. [19], using magnetorheological dampers, a semi-active suspen- comparing with the results of Ref. [20]. As in Ref. [20], a bump dis-
sion system has been developed. turbance is used to excite the vehicle. Figure 4 shows the responses
of the model comparing with those of Ref. [20].
2.1 Hydro-Active Suspension System. The main element of
each hydro-active suspension system is a single acting hydraulic 3.2 Linear Mathematical Model of the Vehicle With
cylinder. This cylinder is connected to a nitrogen containing accu- Hydro-Active Suspension. Stiffness of the gas springs is derived
mulator (gas spring) and a continuously variable damper throttle using the static pressure equilibrium at the both sides of the

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Fig. 3 Physical model of the vehicle with passive suspension

Since the static equilibrium is necessary, then it is obtained that



Pgfr ¼ Pgofr þ Pfr
(4)
Vgfr ¼ Vgofr  Vfr

Where Pfr is perturbation pressure and Vfr is the volume of the


input oil into this gas spring. According to Fig. 5, Vfr ¼ Afr ðZufr
ZB þ A1 P þ B2 RÞ and consequently perturbation pressure of the
front right gas spring is given by the following equation:
8   9
> mfr gc c >
Fig. 4 Responses of the derived model comparing with those
>
< >
=
mfr g Ksfr
given in Ref. [20] Pfr ¼  c  1 (5)
Afr > > m gc >
>
: fr  ðZufr  ZB þ A1 P þ B2 RÞ ;
Ksfr
CVDTV. For instance, the following equation gives the stiffness
of the front right gas spring:
Figure 5 shows the free body diagram of the vehicle consider-
ing the nonlinear effects of the hydro-active dampers. Nonlinear
A2fr cPgofr
Ksfr ¼ (1) equations of motion are derived using Newton’s second motion
Vgofr law. The corresponding equations are given as

In Eq. (1), Vgofr is the static volume of the front right suspen- € ufr þ Pfr Afr þ x17 þ Ktfr ðZufr  yfr Þ ¼ 0
mufr Z
sion, c is the gas atomicity coefficient, and Pgofr is the static pres-
sure of the suspension which is equal to Pgofr ¼ mfr g=Afr . € ufl þ Pfl Afl þ x18 þ Ktfl ðZufl  yfl Þ ¼ 0
mufl Z
Four first order differential equations are used as the dynamic € urr þ Prr Arr þ x19 þ Ktrr ðZurr  yrr Þ ¼ 0
murr Z
model of the CVDTV. For instance, Eq. (2) represents the
dynamic equation of the front right suspension CVDTV € url þ Prl Arl þ x20 þ Ktrl ðZurl  yrl Þ ¼ 0
murl Z
 
    € d þ Kd ðZd þ aP  bR  ZB Þ þ Cd Z_ d þ aP_  bR_  Z_ B ¼ 0
mD Z
2 1
x_ 17 ¼ x17 þ ufr (2) € B  Pfr Afr  Pfl Afl  Prr Arr  Prl Arl
mB Z
sfr sfr
 Kd ðZd þ aP  bR  ZB Þ
Instantaneous response of the control valve is not possible in  
 Cd Z_ d þ aP_  bR_  Z_ B  x17  x18  x19  x20 ¼ 0
the application. Thus, as in Eq. (2), a first order delay of sfr is sup-
posed in the dynamic model of the CVDTV. The values of the € þ Pfr Afr B2  Pfl Afl B1 þPrr Arr B2  Prl Arl B1
Iz R
system parameters are as in Refs. [21] and [27].  
 Kd ðZd þ aP  bR  ZB Þb  Cd Z_ d þ aP_  bR_  Z_ B b
3.3 Nonlinear Mathematical Model of the Vehicle With þ x17 B2  x18 B1 þx19 B2  x20 B1 ¼ 0
Hydro-Active Suspension. Hydro-active suspension works under € þ Pfr Afr A1 þ Pfl Afl A1  Prr Arr A2  Prl Arl A2
Iy P
the adiabatic process [33]. Therefore, the gas spring behaves under  
the ideal gas law. Nonlinear model of the front right suspension is þ Kd ðZd þ aP  bR  ZB Þa þ Cd Z_ d þ aP_  bR_  Z_ B a
derived in the following. Instantaneous pressure and volume of the þ x17 A1 þ x18 A1  x19 A2  x20 A2 ¼ 0 (6)
front right gas spring (Pgfr and Vgfr ) and static pressure and volume
of this gas spring satisfy the ideal gas equation
4 Sensors and Actuators
c Sixteen candidate measured variables (candidate sensors) are
Pgofr Vgofr
Pgfr ¼ c (3) supposed as in Fig. 6. These variables are y1 , y2 , y3 , and y4 as
Vgfr measures of the suspension displacements; y5 , y6 , y7 , and y8 as

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Fig. 5 Free body diagram of the vehicle with hydro-active suspension (nonlinear)

Fig. 6 Schematic of the vehicle equipped with hydro-active suspension system,


showing actuators and candidate sensors

measures of the axles accelerations; y9 , y10 , y11 , and y12 as meas- Like all types of semi-active suspensions, damping coefficients
ures of the vertical accelerations of the vehicle in the position of are the control inputs. Thus, selection of the manipulated variables
the wheels; y13 , y14 , and y15 as measures of the driver’s seat accel- (inputs) is not addressed here. These variables are ufr , ufl , urr , and
erations; and y16 as a measure of the vertical acceleration of the url as shown in Fig. 6.
body.
Other sensors can also be candidate, for instance, sensors meas- 5 Selection of Measured Variables
uring relative displacement between suspension and road surface.
However, in this study only the sensors given in Table 1 are used. Some tools of control structure selection depend on scaling such
This is done because of low costs, easy implementation, and suita- as most of the selection criteria based on input–output controllabil-
ble durability of theses sensors which make them proper for ity. However, incorrect scaling can result in improper selections.
application. On the other hand, scaling uncertain variables is not easy always.
These are the main reasons for implementation of such input–-
output selection criteria, which are independent from scaling.
Table 1 Candidate sensors description State space description of the vehicle with linear hydro-active
suspension is as Eq. (7). The matrices are described in Appendix
Output variable Description Output variable Description A of Ref. [21]
y1 Zufr  ðZB  A1 P  B2 RÞ y9 € B  A1 P
Z €  B2 R
€ 8
y2 Zufl  ðZB  A1 P þ B1 RÞ y10 € B  A1 P
Z € þ B1 R
€ < x_ ¼ AH x þ BH u u þ BH w w
y3 Zurr  ðZB þ A2 P  B2 RÞ y11 € B þ A2 P
Z €  B2 R
€ y ¼ CH x þ DH u u þ DHw w (7)
y4 Zurl  ðZB þ A2 P þ B1 RÞ y12 € B þ A2 P
Z € þ B1 R
€ :
z ¼ EH x þ FHu u þ FH w w
y5 € ufr
Z y13 €D
Z
y6 € ufl
Z y14 aP€
y7 € urr
Z y15 bR€ where x is the state vector, y is the measured variables vector, and
y8 € url
Z y16 €B
Z z is the controlled variables vector (see general control system
setup in Fig. 1).

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According to Fig. 6, the system consists of four inputs. Among condition numbers represent lower sensitivities and more robust-
the candidate measured variables given in Table 1, four variables ness to higher modeling errors.
which are the best for control purposes are selected. Achieving In Ref. [6], two lower bounds for the condition number are
the closed loop system to joint robust stability and nominal per- given, which are independent of input–output scaling. Implemen-
formance in the presence of additive uncertainty, D, is the main tation of these two bounds instead of kðPÞ in the JRSNP theorem
idea in this selection. weakens this criterion, and as a result, more input–output
subsets might be accepted. Thus, the method might
be less
effective. However, according to Ref. [6], 2max KðPo Þ ;
1
5.1 Joint Robust Stability and Nominal Performance. This KðPo Þ g  1 which is independent of scaling is used here
1
theorem has been proven in Ref. [6]: instead of kðPo Þ, where KðPo Þ is the relative gain array (RGA)
If Po is a linear nominal time invariant model of a square matrix of the transfer function of the candidate subset Po ,
bounded system, then, a controller C exists such that: described in detail in Sec. 5.2. k:k1 and k:k1 are the matrix 1-
(1) Stabilizes all P ¼ Po þ D. (Number of unstable poles of Po norm and 1-norm operators, respectively.
and P are the same and rðDÞ=rðPo Þ  dra .) It is desired to use dra as the expected uncertainty bound at
(2) For every x  xs , it results in rðsÞ  rs and rs < 1. each frequency. On the other hand, dra should be selected for any
candidate subset separately. This makes the criterion less efficient.
Only in the case of satisfaction of inequality Because of this, dra is conservatively selected and applied to all of
  the candidate sets as the same.
1 1 There are 1820 output candidate sets which have four members.
kðPo Þ < ; 8x  xs (8) Primarily, four candidate sets based on the sensor types as shown
dra 1  rs
in Table 1 are selected. Figure 7 shows the evaluation of the four
selected sets based on the JRSNP criterion. These four are
where S ¼ ðI þ Po CÞ1 is the nominal output sensitivity function
of the closed loop system; kðPo Þ is the condition number of the
rðP0 Þ set 1 ¼ f y1 y2 y3 y4 g set 2 ¼ f y5 y6 y7 y8 g
nominal system and is given by kðP0 Þ :¼ rðP 0Þ
, rðP0 Þ and rðP0 Þ
are the largest and the smallest singular values of the nominal sys- set 3 ¼ f y9 y10 y11 y12 g set 4 ¼ f y13 y14 y15 y16 g
tem, respectively; dra is the additive uncertainty range; and xs
gives the closed loop bandwidth.
This theorem gives a necessary condition for input–output Although none of the above four sets satisfy the JRSNP crite-
selection based on joint robust stability and nominal performance. rion, comparing these sets presents a clear insight of the system. It
Here, this necessary condition is called JRSNP. System P0 can be should be emphasized that input–output selection measures do not
any subset of the full input–output set. Candidate subsets which replace physical insight, although they should be used as a com-
do not satisfy inequality (8) are omitted. Qualitatively, smaller plementation. Two sets of set 1 and set 2 result in smaller

Fig. 7 Evaluation of four candidate sensor types based on the JRSNP criterion

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Fig. 8 Candidate output sets satisfying the JRSNP criterion

condition numbers comparing with set 3 and set 4. Thus, it is


expected that the selected set will have members of set 1 and set 2.
Candidate output sets satisfying the JRSNP criterion are as
following:

set 0001 ¼ f y1 y2 y3 y8 g set 0002 ¼ f y1 y2 y4 y6 g


set 0003 ¼ f y2 y3 y4 y6 g set 0004 ¼ f y2 y3 y4 y8 g

Such a small number of these sets reveal effectiveness of the


JRSNP criterion. Figure 8 shows an evaluation of these sets by the
JRSNP criterion. No final decision can be made on this stage.

5.2 RGA Number. Frequency dependent RGA for a square


Fig. 9 RGA numbers for four remaining candidate output sets
and nonsingular matrix is
 T
KðPðjxÞÞ :¼ PðjxÞ:  P1 ðjxÞ (9) Table 2 RHP zeros for the remaining candidate sets

where “:” shows the Schur or Hadamard multiplication. For a Set number 100 rad=s > RHP zeros
nonsquare system, matrix inversion in Eq. (9) is substituted with
pseudo-inverse. For the first time, RGA has been presented in Ref. Set0001 0.0084
Set0002 0.0000
[34] as a steady state measure to assess interactions in decentral- Set0003 0.0000, 0.0361 6 34.1j, 0.0000 6 0.0000j
ized control systems. In most of the studies in the field of control Set0004 0.0074
structure selection, RGA has been used as a method for control
configuration selection. However, it can be shown that RGA is
also suitable for input–output selection. The law is not to select
input–output sets which cause big RGA elements. Because their However, if it is not possible to totally avoid unstable transmis-
related system P is substantially difficult to control and by using a sion zeros, the input–output sets must be chosen such that they
specific class of controllers, the system will be nonrobust [13]. So, result in the least number of RHP zeros and these zeros should be
it is suitable to K have small elements. Also to have diagonal away from the imaginary axis as far as possible [35]. Table 2
dominancy, K  I should be small. These two goals can found a shows the RHP zeros slower than 100 rad=s for the remaining
criterion, which is RGA number candidate sets.
X Based on Table 2, set 0001 and set 0004 are more viable for
X
RGA number : ¼kK  I ksum ¼ 1  kij þ kij (10) control. Next, the quantified criteria from the state controllability
i¼j i6¼j and observability are used to tackle the final selection.

Smaller RGA numbers cause easier controls. The RGA num- 5.4 Hankel Singular Values. In control theory, eigenvalues
bers for four remaining candidate sets are plotted in Fig. 9. determine the system stability. However, Hankel singular values
Whereas RGA numbers of these sets are too close to each other, represent the energy of each system state variable. For a system in
the confident selection is impossible. With respect to this crite- state space description, Hankel singular values are
rion, it seems that set 0004 and set 0003 have worse results than
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
that of set 0002. However, in the sense of this criterion, set 0001 rH ¼ ki ðLc Lo Þ (11)
is the best set in low frequencies.
Lc and Lo are the controllability and observability gramians,
5.3 Right Half Plane Zeros. Due to the serious limitations respectively, and ki are the system eigenvalues. A candidate set,
imposed by RHP transmission zeros in multivariable plants, it is which causes higher Hankel singular values, benefits more joint
desirable to avoid them in any sensor selection. It is well known controllability and observability. That is why such a candidate set
that the location of transmission zeros is related to the sensors. is more viable for control.

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Fig. 10 Hankel singular values of the two transfer functions
described in Sec. 5.4

The output sets, namely set 0001 and set 0004, are different
only in y1 and y4 . In Fig. 10, Hankel singular values of two trans-
fer functions between the four inputs and every remaining candi-
date measured variable (y1 and y4 ) are shown.
The clear result of Fig. 10 is to select set 0001 as the system
measured variable set. Fig. 11 Interaction evaluation of the system by means of
Gershgorin’s bands
6 Control Configuration Selection
The main subject of control configuration selection is to mini- restricted information flow exists. This will cause decreases in
mize the loop interactions. A proper control configuration selec- decentralized systems performance. However a trade-off should
tion gives a configuration which has the maximum possible be taken among the performance decreases and other benefits of
diagonal dominancy. Based on Ref. [13], if there is no limitation decentralized control systems [13]. A decentralized PID controller
for using steady state RGA criterion, it can be used as a powerful is used to control the system. Figure 12 shows the implemented
means for selecting control configurations. The steady state RGA control system setup. The PID controller gains are tuned using
matrix of the system is presented as below ultimate sensitivity method [37] besides doing some trial and
errors.
ufr ufl urr url The vehicle speed is assumed to be constant at 60 km/h. The
2 3 vehicle is excited by a bump road input. The results are presented
y1 1:124 0:124 0:098 0:098
6 7 in time domain.
y2 6
6 0:091 1:025 0:065 0:131 7
7 The bounce, roll, and pitch accelerations of the driver’s seat are
Kð0Þ ¼ 6 7 presented in Fig. 13 for both passive and hydro-active suspen-
y3 6
4 0:098 0:098 1:097 0:098 7
5 sions. In hydro-active suspension, these accelerations are
y8 0:002 0:003 0:001 1:006 decreased well.
The magnitude of the force between the road and the tire is pro-
portional to the displacement between the tire axis and the road.
Pairing such that the system RGA is close to unitary matrix
This displacement is called tire dynamic deflection. The contact
guarantees having the maximum possible diagonal dominancy
between the tire and the road depends on this vertical force. Con-
and integrity. As seen here, the diagonal and the off-diagonal ele-
sequently, keeping the tire dynamic deflection to small amounts is
ments of the system RGA are close to one and are little, respec-
necessary to have an acceptable contact between the tire and the
tively. Also no diagonal element is negative. So, the pairs (ufr ; y1 ),
road. The variations of tire dynamic deflection for passive and
(ufl ; y2 ), (urr ; y3 ), and (url ; y8 ) are chosen in order to have the mini-
hydro-active suspension systems are presented in Fig. 14. The
mum possible loop interaction.
decrease in tire dynamic deflection in hydro-active system shows
Evaluating the interaction is done in Fig. 11 using column
having a proper tire–road contact.
Gershgorin’s bands. In Ref. [36], a comprehensive study on
Nyquist arrays and Gershgorin’s bands has been presented.
Nyquist array of a transfer function matrix PðsÞ is an array of the
graphs in which the graph ijth is the location of the Nyquist pij ðsÞ.
The column Gershgorin’s bands P of a transfer
function
matrix PðsÞ
m
are circles with the radius of i¼1 pij ðjxÞ and the center of
i6¼j
pii ðjxÞ. If the Gershgorin’s band related to pii ðsÞ does not include
the origin, system PðsÞ has diagonal dominancy in that channel.
As shown in Fig. 11, Gershgorin’s bands include the origin,
whereas the diameters of Gershgorin’s circles are fairly small, that
is, small interactions. Regarding this, decentralized PID controller
design is addressed in the following.

7 Controller Design
In a centralized control system, each input is determined by the
feedback from all the measured variables. That is, full information
exchange exists, whereas in a decentralized control system only a Fig. 12 Control system setup of the vehicle suspension

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Fig. 13 Bounce, roll, and pitch accelerations of driver’s seat

Fig. 14 Tire dynamic deflection

Fig. 15 Suspension displacement

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