Passive, Semi-Active and

Active Suspension System

Definition:
Suspension system: a mechanical
system of springs and shock
absorbers that connect the wheels
and axles to the chassis of a wheeled
vehicle

The Function of suspension system:

The job of a car suspension are:
- to carry the static weight of the vehicle
- to maximize the friction between the
tires
and the road surface,
- to provide steering stability with good
handling (minimize body roll)
- to ensure the comfort of the passengers
(ability to smooth out a bumpy road).

The Function of Spring and Shock

Absorber

The Function of Spring: to absorb shock energy from road bump and
convert it into potential energy of spring
The Function of Shock Absorber: to dissipate shock energy from road
bump without causing undue oscillation in the vehicle.

Classification of Suspension
System
Passive
Semi-Active
- Orifice Based Damper
- MR fluid based Damper
Active
Slow Active
Active
Fully Active

Passive Suspension

The damping value (Cs) of a

passive damper is determined by
the total orifice area (the number
of hole) in the piston head.

Orifice based Semi-Active

Suspension

MR fluid based Semi-Active

Suspension

MR Fluid
- Magnetorheological fluid is composed
of oil and varying percentages of
ferrous particles (20-50 microns in
diameter) that have been coated
with an anti-coagulant material.
- Varying the magnetic field strength
has the effect of changing the
viscosity of the magnetorheological
fluid.

Force velocity relationship

Active Suspension System

Active suspension system uses hydraulic actuator to reduce the
amount of external power necessary to achieve the desired
performance characteristics and is able to exert an independent
force on the suspension to improve the riding characteristics.

Schematic Diagram and Basic Configuration of

Hydraulically Actuated Active Suspension System

Pneumatically Actuated Active Suspension

System Developed in Autotronics Lab - UTeM

Active VS Semi-Active
Semi-Active:
Lower implementation cost
Lower power consumption
Easier to control
Simpler design
Easy to install
Disadvantage: damper constraint, the
force range is limited, performance is
not as good as active system

Active VS Semi-Active
Active System:
Wider range of force
No force-velocity constraint
Can achieve better performance (vehicle
dynamics)
Disadvantages: power consumption is
high, higher weight to power ratio,
expensive, major modification should be
made before installing active system
into the existing vehicle