Conventional and non-conventional smart damping systems for ride control

This paper analyses, from a control perspective,two physically different dampers for the semi active control of ride: the maggnetorheological damper ('conventional') and the friction damper (' non-conventional'). An in depth analysis will show that the latter damper has modelling and control analogies with the MR damper and has the potential to be a low cost alternative to a controlled viscous damper. A generalvariable structure algorithm targetted to achieve ride control has been designed to offer a well-rounded vision of the applicability of such dampers