Active vibration absorber for automotive suspensions: a theoretical study

The paper deals with the attenuation of mechanical vibrations in automotive suspensions using active vibration absorbers. The main features and performance of an automotive suspension featuring an active vibration absorber are assessed adopting a two-degree-of-freedom quarter-car model. The active vibration absorber is designed following a linear quadratic regulation (LQR) control law. A comparison of the proposed system with a suspension that uses a purely passive vibration absorber and a state-of-the-art active suspension is presented. The results of the numeric simulations show that active vibration absorbers could be effective in improving suspension handling and comfort performance. They can be as well as a possible alternative to standard active suspensions in terms of lower power consumption, simplicity and cost.