A NOVEL APPLICATION OF PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUE IN SEMI-ACTIVE SUSPENSION SYSTEM CONTROL

This paper is based on the quarter car semi-active suspension system. Semi-active suspension system proves to be a better choice in comparison with the passive and active systems keeping in view the inherent benefits of better performance, light weight and cost effective design. The semi-active system is driven by a fuzzy logic controller that is based on the feedback of relative displacement of the suspension with respect to the road disturbance and relative velocity across the damper. Fuzzy logic control can cope with the non-linearities of system using heuristic rules. Three gains are incorporated in the system corresponding to the inputs and output of the controller. Particle swarm optimization method is utilized for its better convergence and precision. The technique results in evaluation of appropriate gains that result in superior performance of the designed system. The models are compared on the basis of suspension displacement and tire displacement for ascertaining ride comfort and road handling attributes respectively