Suspension System Analysis Using MATLAB
For the simplified car suspension system shown in Figure 1, where x(t) is measured with respect to the equilibrium position, use MATLAB's ode45.m or step.m (if you prefer using a state space realization) to plot the position of the car after the car hits a unit bump (r(t) is a unit step with r(t) = 1, t > 0). Assume that m = 350 kg and k = 10,000 N/m. Find the value of b that you would prefer if you were a passenger in the car. Give a subjective but reasonable argument for picking b. (Hint: try using values of b of 500 Ns/m, 2000 Ns/m, 5000 Ns/m)
Figure 1: Simplified Suspension System