The Design of a Fuzzy-Sliding Mode Controller of Semi-active Suspension Systems with MR Dampers

A fuzzy-sliding mode controller is presented to control the dynamics of semi-active suspension systems of vehicles using magneto-rheological (MR) fluid dampers. A full-car model is used to design and evaluate the performance of the proposed semi-active controlled suspension system. Four MR dampers operated in the mixed mode are designed, manufactured, characterized, and integrated with four independent fuzzy-sliding mode controllers. The fuzzy logic control strategy is studied to to overcome the chattering of the sliding mode controller. The performance of the semi-active suspension systems is evaluated in both the time and frequency domains. The numerical simulations are carried out to check the effectiveness of proposed fuzzy-sliding mode controller. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed controller can effectively suppress the vibration of vehicles and improve the ride comfort. Furthermore, it is shown that the "chattering" of sliding mode controller is smoothed when it is integrated with a fuzzy logic control strategy.