Murat Otkur, Ammar Mohammad, Aryana Ranjbar, Yousef Bosakher, Ebrahem Alsaleh, Ahmad Alsultan

Abstract:

A vehicle's driving comfort is mainly influenced by the design of the suspension system, which is a part of the vehicle that works to reduce the vibrations and distortions caused by the road. And with the evolution of modern vehicles, suspension systems evolved significantly. Initially, they were purely mechanical, depending solely on the working principles of springs and dampers. However, the advancement of automotive technology has led to the introduction of more advanced systems like the Semi-Active Suspension Systems (SASS) and Active Suspension Systems (ASS). In this study, a model-based design and tuning of an ASS was conducted. The main goal of the study was to achieve the minimum pitch angle, vertical acceleration, and vertical displacement of the car’s body for various bump passing manoeuvre. As the first step, Half Car Model (HCM) was developed using MATLAB/Simulink software and validated using literature data. Using MATLAB mobile software, a 2020 model year Ford F-150 pick-up truck vehicle with kerb plus driver weight was tested considering a bump passing manoeuvre, and the suspension system parameters of the vehicle were determined via matching the measure vehicle response with the simulation results. A Proportional Derivative (PD) controller was implemented in the model, and its parameters were tuned. A 93.54% improvement in terms of maximum pitch angle, a 96.69% improvement in maximum vertical acceleration, and a 25.17% improvement in the maximum vertical displacement of the vehicle chassis were achieved as a result of this study. To standardize the achievement of the study, a second bump profile that is based on a standard was also implemented in the model. A 94.07% improvement in terms of maximum pitch angle, a 95.99% improvement in maximum vertical acceleration, and a 24.51% improvement in the maximum vertical displacement of the vehicle chassis were achieved as a result the standardized bump passing manoeuvre.

Keywords: Active Suspension System, Half Car Model, MATLAB/Simulink, PD Controller, Pitch Angle, Vertical Acceleration, Vertical Displacement.

Date Published: January 13, 2026
DOI: 10.11159/jffhmt.2026.003

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