Performance Improvement of Suspension Characteristics by Implementation of Active Suspension System in Two Wheelers

Abstract

New and better two-wheel models have increased demand today, with increased protection, comfort and performance. The human body gets exhausted, which contributes to back pain and neck pain because of the excessive use of bikes, wrong riding positions, poor weather and suspension system issues. The systems engineer would focus on the design of the vehicle suspension mechanism to minimise human discomfort. This research aims to study the feasibility of implementing a suspension system with active suspension for a two-wheeler by way of numerical modelling, simulation and analysis. First of all, the active suspension system for a 2 DOF system is modelled and analysed. The analysis done is frequency response analysis and time-domain analysis. The time-domain analysis is done using two road inputs; one is a bump input, which is designed according to the standards, and the other is a random road input. Then the two-wheelers were modelled as a 4 DOF model. The controller is modelled using optimal control theory. A linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controller is used because the system is assumed to have linear characteristics and the cost function of the system is quadratic. It is observed that suspension characteristics are improved by using the active suspension system in two-wheelers.