As part of my system dynamics class, I delved into the world of suspension systems. Specifically, I explored the dynamics and control of an active suspension system, with the objective of achieving an ideal balance between ride smoothness and handling responsiveness.

Why: The exploration was sparked by a real-world incident: My car encountered a nasty pothole going down North University Street on my way to Bradley. I may or may not have been following the posted speed limit, but that is irrelevant for our analysis :). This pothole caused damage to the coil-spring leading to it needing to be replaced. The challenge was to find the right aftermarket coil spring set while retaiing the active suspension functionality of my vehicle.

The primary objective was the isolate the vehicle's body from road distrubances while not compromising handling. An active-suspension system was modeled dissecting the mass-spring-damper dynamics, and crafting state-space models.

Key Findings and Conclusion: Through simulations, it was determined htat transitioning from a stock 6-coil sring to an 8-coil spring yielded the most singificant improvement in damping and ride quality. This solution strikes an ideal balance between performance enhancement and budget considerations.

Skills Demonstrated: MATLAB/Simulink, Dynamic Modeling, and State-Space Modeling

More Info: For more information please see the presentation below.