Title: Height and posture control of air suspension with double-loop controller

Authors: Hong Zhang; Xiaojun Xia; Lei Ye; Shuo Zhang; Yi Lu; Rui Chen; Hanwen Zhang; Hantong Zhou; Xueyi Yan

Addresses: China Merchants Testing Vehicle Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., No. 9, Xinqin Avenue, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing City, China ' China Merchants Testing Vehicle Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., No. 9, Xinqin Avenue, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing City, China ' China Merchants Testing Vehicle Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., No. 9, Xinqin Avenue, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing City, China ' Chongqing Changan Kaicheng Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd., No. 226, Liangjiang Avenue, Yuzui Town, Jiangbei District, Chongqing City, China ' China Merchants Testing Vehicle Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., No. 9, Xinqin Avenue, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing City, China ' School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei Province, China ' School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei Province, China ' China Merchants Testing Vehicle Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., No. 9, Xinqin Avenue, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing City, China ' Chongqing Duola New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd., No. 12, Building B2, Jingyang Road, Shaopingba District, Chongqing City, China

Abstract: Air spring suspension enhances handling performance and passability by adjusting vehicle height and posture. This paper proposes a control strategy to regulate vehicle height and posture using air suspension. A mathematical model of a vehicle with seven degrees of freedom is derived to obtain the state function for the controller and the plant model for verification. An air spring suspension is integrated into the vehicle model, and a corresponding control strategy is developed. The proposed strategy consists of two control loops: an outer loop using model predictive control to regulate height and posture by adjusting the target air pressure in the air springs, and an inner loop employing a PID controller to modulate the valve and control airflow. To validate the strategy, two simulations are conducted, and the results demonstrate its effectiveness.

Keywords: air spring; height control; posture control; model predictive control; pneumatic system.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVP.2026.152822

International Journal of Vehicle Performance, 2026 Vol.12 No.1, pp.52 - 72

Received: 28 Apr 2025
Accepted: 25 Jul 2025
Published online: 13 Apr 2026 *

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