Application of virtual prototyping for optimization of fuzzy-based active suspension system

Optimization of fuzzy active suspension (AS) system in previous works was based on simple basic models in which many effective degrees of freedom are neglected. In this paper, application of virtual prototyping for genetic optimization of AS fuzzy controller is presented. A full-3D vehicle model is developed for this purpose using ADAMS software. Moreover, a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is proposed for the AS system and is applied to the virtual prototype. The FLC parameters are then tuned based on the virtual prototype responses using genetic algorithm in MATLAB-ADAMS co-simulation process. The optimization objective function comprises conflicting ride comfort, suspension travel and energy consumption parameters. Simulation results reveal the superior performance of the optimized controller in vehicle ride comfort improvement as well as suspension travel and energy consumption reduction.