Abstract: The parameter uncertainties of vehicle suspension system are studied, and a novel backstepping controller design method based on model reference control (MRC) is proposed for nonlinear active vehicle suspension A nonlinear dynamics model of the suspension system is established, and high-pass and low-pass filters are introduced. The pass bandwidths of the high-pass and low-pass filters are changed according to suspension dynamic deflection. An ideal MRC system is designed. On this basis, both the tracking errors of vehicle body displacement and vertical velocity are constructed for the controlled suspension system and MRC system, and a backstepping controller of tracking error is proposed based on backstepping technique and Lyapunov stability theory. The effectiveness and tracking accuracy of the proposed approach are verified through numerical simulation.

Key words: ordnance science and technology, nonlinear active suspension, backstepping control, tracking error, model reference control