Semi-active suspension systems from research to mass-market – A review

It is well documented that active suspension systems offer substantial benefits in ride comfort, handling control over traditional passive systems. However, restrictive features such as the power required and costs make an active system impractical. To solve those problems, semi-active suspension systems have been developed. This paper aims at providing a review of the present state-of-the-art in the semi-active suspension control field in terms of vehicle ride comfort and road-holding performance evaluation. Strengths and weaknesses of the semi-active suspension systems are identified and their relative performance capabilities and equipment requirements are discussed. Furthermore, examples of the current mass market implementation for semi-active suspension systems for road vehicle are discussed.