The continuous expansion of industrial demand in various countries has increased the need for large commercial vehicles to transport products between locations. As a result, freight transportation has become a key driver of economic growth, contributing significantly to a country's GDP, typically accounting for 6-12% of the total. However, this rapid growth in road transportation has also brought about a rise in traffic congestion and a higher probability of road accidents. According to a European Union assessment, large vehicles are a significant factor in these incidents. Nevertheless, the primary cause of road accidents remains driver negligence.
Work-related injuries and disorders caused by whole-body vibration have been extensively studied worldwide. To address this problem, researchers have developed a pitch plane model of a large vehicle using a Lagrangian approach coupled with various hybrid semi-active damping schemes based on the model predictive control (MPC) framework. The MPC-based suspension controller is designed to optimize comfort and handling by minimizing a quadratic cost function.
The focus has been on reducing the vertical accelerations experienced by the vehicle due to variations in the vehicle and road profile to improve the vehicle's stability and ride comfort level. Additionally, managing the changes in vertical force encountered by each tire during its interaction with the road has been crucial. The ride comfort of the driver has been evaluated by analyzing the vertical accelerations at the center of gravity of the pitch plane model, both with and without the MPC-based controller, using the guidelines specified in ISO 2631-1/2.
Simulation results have demonstrated the impact of the MPC-based controller, with and without its implementation, on the ride comfort level and road-holding capability of the heavy vehicle system. These findings highlight the potential of the MPC-based controller to enhance the overall performance of heavy vehicle systems in terms of ride comfort and road holding.