Control and vibration of rail vehicle semi-active suspensions with comfort evaluation

Abstract

This paper deals with the modelling and control of rail vehicle semi-active suspensions. The analytical models of the quarter rail vehicle with a passenger seat, describing the vertical motion, are presented for semi-active and passive suspensions. Two controllers, i.e., PID-ZN and LQR are designed in order to improve the passenger comfort. This comfort is evaluated in terms of the passenger displacement and vibration. These comfort criteria are evaluated as a response of a rail imperfection excitation. The obtained results prove that the semi-active suspension with a LQR controller yields the best results compared to PID controller.