Compensation of the Thermal Effect in a Vehicle Suspension System

A method for controlling the damping characteristic of a shock absorber of a vehicle, particularly for compensating the variation of the operating temperature of the shock absorber, in an active or semi-active suspension system. The compensation of the variation of the operating temperature of the shock absorber takes place by: estimating a mechanical power dissipated in heat by the shock absorber; estimating a thermal power exchanged by the shock absorber with the environment; evaluating the current operating temperature of the shock absorber as a function of the dissipated mechanical power and of the thermal power exchanged with the environment; and controlling the driving current of the control valve of the shock absorber according to a shock absorber reference model indicating a relationship between the damping force of the shock absorber, the operating temperature of the shock absorber and the driving current of the control valve.