Analysis of an electromagnetic automobile suspension system

The automobile suspension systems currently in use can be classified as passive, semi-active and active. The passive suspension systems are the most commonly used due to their low price and high reliability. However, this system cannot assure the desired performance from a modern suspension system. An important improvement of suspension performance is achieved by the active systems. Nevertheless, they are only used in a very reduced number of automobile models because they are expensive and complex. Another disadvantage of active systems is relatively high energy consumption. The use of electromagnetic linear actuators is an alternative for the implementation of active automobile suspensions systems. Moreover, this solution has the advantage of the suspension energy recovery. The authors' workgroup have proposed an electromagnetic actuator that is already implemented in a workbench. The prototype can be improved in order to obtain higher power with less volume, with the development of new materials. In this paper it is analysed a pseudo-levitating suspension system. Simulation and experimental results are also presented.