Parameters uncertainty in pareto optimization of nonlinear inerter-based suspension system under nonstationary random road excitation

Ignoring the possible impacts of uncertainties in vehicle components during the design phase can undermine the safety of passengers and the vehicle performance. The main function of a suspension system is to provide satisfactory ride comfort and road-holding with a sufficiently low probability of rollover. Despite many studies on the design of new suspension systems with inerters, the effect of uncertainties in vehicle weight and tire stiffness on the design of suspension with inerters has not received much attentions. This paper presents a new type of suspension with inerters and asymmetric dampers and investigates the dynamic behavior of a vehicle under variable vehicle speed. Moreover, the effect of uncertainties on the choice of acceptable values of inerters is evaluated. For this investigation, the authors developed a 9-DOF full vehicle model with roll and yaw motions under non-stationary random road excitations in the time and frequency domains and studied its dynamic response with different suspension models. The optimal design was performed using a multi-objective optimization algorithm called MOEA/D. The best model was then used to determine the effect of uncertainties on the choice of inerters. The optimization results show that using the optimized suspension with inerters and nonlinear dampers instead of conventional design improves the ride comfort by 0.16%, the vehicle road-holding by 3.54%, and the rollover probability by 44.73%. In the proposed model, by changing the values of vehicle parameters with uncertainty, the choice of inerters to have an acceptable performance would be variable.

Automated summary

This study investigates a new suspension system with inerters and asymmetric dampers, analyzing its dynamic response and performance under variable vehicle speed, improving ride comfort and vehicle performance through optimization algorithms, and considering the influence of uncertainties on the choice of inerters.