Hybrid model predictive control of damping multi-mode switching damper for vehicle suspensions

This paper investigates the design and verification of a hybrid model predictive controller of a damping multi-mode switching damper for application in vehicle suspensions. Since the damping mode switches induce different modes of operation, the vehicle suspension system including this damper poses challenging hybrid control problem. To solve this problem, a novel approach to the modelling and controller design problem is proposed based on hybrid modelling and model predictive control techniques. The vehicle suspension system with the damping multi-mode switching damper is formulated as a mixed logical dynamical model comprising continuous and discrete system inputs. Based on this model, a constrained optimal control problem is solved to manage the switching sequences of the damping mode with respect to the suspension performance requirements. Numerical simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control methodology finally.