ACTIVE SUSPENSION

The Active Suspension is an ideal platform to teach active

control challenges for a quarter-car model. This plant setup
offers senior mechanical engineering students unique,
hands-on learning relevant to today’s automotive industry.

BRING MODERN VEHICLE DESIGN TO YOUR LAB

The Active Suspension experiment teaches cutting-edge technology
that has brought a new generation of vehicles to life. Active suspension
technology is used in the automotive industry to continuously control
the vertical movement of the vechicle wheel using an actively-controlled
actuator placed on the suspension axis. Similar technologies have also
been used in train bogies to improve the curving behavior of the train
and the decreased acceleration perceived by the passenger.

HOW IT WORKS
The Active Suspension consists of three masses, or plates. Each mass
slides along stainless steel shafts using linear bearings and is supported
by a set of springs, as shown in Figure1. The upper mass (blue) repre-
sents the vehicle body supported above the
suspension, also known as the sprung mass.
The middle mass (red) corresponds to one
of the vehicle’s tires, or the unsprung mass. System specifications
Finally, the bottom (silver) mass simulates on reverse page.

the road. The upper mass is connected to a

high-quality DC motor through a capstan to
emulate an active suspension system that ACTIVE SUSPENSION WORKSTATION COMPONENTS
can dynamically compensate for the motions Active Suspension plant
introduced by the road. The lower plate is Q8-USB data acquisition device
driven by a powerful DC motor connected to AMPAQ-L2 linear current amplifier
Figure 1.
Double Mass-Spring-Damper a lead screw and cable transmission system. QUARC real-time control software for MATLAB ®/Simulink ®
students use to model the It is used to simulate different road profiles. Laboratory Guide, User Manual, and Quick Start Guide (provided in digital format)
Active Suspension System.
Students can tune the supplied controller Sample pre-built controllers and complete dynamic model
or design their own controllers to optimize the various suspension
performance parameters which include:
 ide Comfort - is related to vehicle body motion sensed by the passengers.
R
It can be measured using either the accelerometer that is mounted on
the top plate, or the encoder (for a direct position measurement).
Suspension Travel - refers to relative displacement between the vehicle
body and the tire and is constrained within an allowable range of motion.
This can be measured using the suspension encoder that is mounted on
the capstan.
Road Handling - is associated with the contact forces between the
road surface and the vehicle tires and depends on tire deflection. Tire
deflection is the relative displacement between the tire and the road
Active Suspension workstation
and it can be measured using all the encoders.

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 Easily

SYSTEM Multi-coloured
masses
removable
screws for
stiffness

SPECIFICATIONS Removable
adjustment

Quick-connect
Active Suspension weight
unit
feature

High
Accelerometer
resolution
encoder
to measure Durable, precise
position suspension motor
Adjustable
spring
stiffness

Heavy-duty lead
screw mechanism
CURRICULUM TOPICS PROVIDED

•D  ouble mass, spring, damper system analysis •  pen-loop system analysis using sweep/chirp signal
O
• Industry-relevant control requirements • S tate-feedback control using LQR
(ride comfort, suspension travel, road handling) • C losed-loop state-feedback system simulation
• Derivation of dynamic model • Implementation of the LQR-based state-feedback
• F inding system state space representation control on the Active Suspension system
• F inding system transfer function model

FEATURES

•H  eavy-duty and robust machine components •A  ccelerometer measurements as sensory input

• T hree high resolution encoders used to measure positions • Responsive belt-drive mechanism to simulate the road suface
of bottom and top masses as well as suspension deflection • Accelerometer mounted on top plate to measure vehicle body
• 2 26 W MICROMO brushless DC motor connected to capstan acceleration
for active suspension control • M ulti-coloured masses for distinction (vehicle body in blue,
• 70 W Magmotor brushed DC motor connected to belt-drive vehicle wheel in red and the road suface in silver)
mechanism for road actuation • L imit switch and protection circuit
• Adjustable weight and spring stiffness • Fully documented system models and parameters
• Open architecture
DEVICE SPECIFICATION
 imensions – W x L x H
D 30.5 cm x 30.5 cm x 61 cm
Total mass 15 kg
Range of motion ±22 mm (road), ±19 mm (tire), ±25.4 mm (car)
Position resolution 0.002mm/count (road), 0.005 mm/count (tire), 0.009mm/count (body
Stiffness adjustable from 0.4 to 2 N/mm
Excitation frequency up to 15 Hz
Resonant frequency Configurable between 2 to 6 Hz
Accelerometer sensitivity 9.81 m/Vs2

COMPLETE WORKSTATION COMPONENTS

Plant Active Suspension
Control design environment Quanser QUARC® add-on for MATLAB®/Simulink®
Quanser Rapid Control Prototyping (RCP) Toolkit add-on for NI LabVIEW™
Documentation Quick Start Guide, User Manual and Laboratory Guide
Real-time targets Microsoft Windows® and NI CompactRIO
Data acquisition devices Quanser QPID/QPIDe, Q8-USB, or
NI CompactRIO with two Quanser Q1-cRIO modules
Amplifier Quanser AMPAQ-L2 multi-channel linear current amplifier
The linear state space model and a sample controller(s) are supplied

About Quanser:
Quanser is the world leader in education and research for real-time control design and implementation. We specialize in outfitting engineering control laboratories to help
universities captivate the brightest minds, motivate them to success and produce graduates with industry-relevant skills. Universities worldwide implement Quanser’s open
architecture control solutions, industry-relevant curriculum and cutting-edge work stations to teach Introductory, Intermediate or Advanced controls to students in Electrical,
Mechanical, Mechatronics, Robotics, Aerospace, Civil, and various other engineering disciplines.

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Products and/or services pictured and referred to herein and their accompanying specifications may be subject to change without notice. Products and/or services mentioned herein are trademarks or registered V2.1
trademarks of Quanser Inc. and/or its affiliates. MATLAB® and Simulink® are registered trademarks of the MathWorks, Inc. LabVIEW™ is a trademark of National Instruments. Maple™ is a trademark of Maplesoft.
MICROMO is a trademark of the Faulhaber Group. Magmotor is a trademark of Magmotor Technologies. Windows® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. ©2013 Quanser Inc. All rights reserved.