Subjective Evaluation of Vehicle Semi-Active Suspension for Improved Ride and Handling

Semi-active suspension systems (SASSs) are becoming more prevalent in passenger vehicles on the road. These systems have been demonstrated to improve ride and handling performance of passenger vehicles. This project will provide a means to subjectively evaluate the performance of SASSs using a dynamic driving simulator. A controller model of a SASS will be created to predict the ride and handling of an FCA vehicle. The controller model will be connected to a full vehicle model and simulated in a real-time environment. This environment includes a dynamic driving simulator in which a physical person drives the vehicle over virtual roads. A method for FCA engineers to subjectively evaluate the virtual vehicle equipped with this SASS controller will be developed to evaluate the vehicle’s ride and handling performance. Upon completion, FCA will have a method for tuning its vehicles’ SASSs ride and handling while reducing the development time and costs.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jennifer Johrendt;Nicola Amati

Student:

Zac Sinasac

Partner:

FCA Canada

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

University of Windsor