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How Suspension System Works in Automobile
How Suspension System Works in Automobile
Introduction
A suspension system is one of the most important system of an automobile that deals with the dynamics of the vehicle. It is
the intermediate flexible system that connects the wheels with the main frame of the vehicle, suspension system is a
combination of various components like knuckle or upright (that have important angles like king-pin, caster), Arms or
linkages and shock absorber that comes together and enables the relative motion between the tyre and the mainframe.
A suspension system provides stability to the vehicle in dynamic conditions like high speed, sharp turns and braking.
The shock absorbers used in suspension system prevents the main frame from the shocks provided by the rough road
conditions by absorbing the shocks which in turn makes the ride smooth for the passengers and the luggage.
1. Non-independent or dependent suspensions – A suspension system in which both the right and the left wheels of the
front and the rear pair of wheels are connected with a solid axle in such a way that the upward motion due to the bump in
any one wheel of the front and the rear wheels pair causes slight lift in the other.
De-dion tube solid axel etc. Types of Suspensions are the examples of dependent suspension
This type of suspensions are used in many old trucks in which the front and rear pairs of wheels are connected with a
solid axle.
2. Independent suspension- A suspension system in which all the four wheels of the vehicle are free i.e. there is no
relative motion between the front and the rear pairs of the wheels which means all the four wheels are connected
independently with the frame and when a bump comes either in right or left side of the vehicle the wheel (either right side
wheel or left side wheel)in contact with the bump moves upward without causing any lift in the other side wheel.
Double wishbone , mac-pherson, etc. Types of suspensions are the example of independent suspension.
Formula cars that uses double wishbone type of suspension and the normal passenger cars like Maruti swift uses
independent suspensions.
The main advantage of using this type of suspension is that the surface contact between the road and either of the
wheels is maintained throughout, which is the basic stability need of the vehicle.
Main Components of the Suspension
System
A suspension system irrespective of their type has some main components in common that are:-
1. Knuckle or Upright- It is the component of the suspension system that is mounted over the wheel’s hub through which
the wheels and the suspension of the vehicle connect with each other by the linkages provided.
A knuckle is provided with the king-pin and the caster angles that helps the front wheels of the vehicle to steer in right
or left direction which in turn steers the vehicle.
A knuckle provides housing for central bearing over which the wheel’s hub rotates along with the rotation of the
wheels.
2. Linkages- linkages are the rigid connections that are used in suspension system to connect the main frame of the vehicle
with the knuckle of the wheels through mechanical fasteners.
On the basis of the type of suspension used linkages are of 3 types-
(i) Wishbones or A-arm – It is the type of the mechanical linkage which is in shape of the alphabet A, the pointy end of
the A-arm is fastened to the knuckle and the other 2 ends of the A-arm are fastened to the main frame of the vehicle.
On the basis of the application of the vehicle either a single A-arm or double A-arm are used.
(ii) Solid axle or live axle- It is the type of linkage which is used to connect the main frame of the vehicle with the knuckle
on the wheel, this is the solid axle casing that supports the overall weight of the vehicle, this type of linkage can be seen in
trucks.
(iii) Multiple links- Instead of using double wishbone or solid axle linkage various high end cars are adopting multiple link
type of suspension in which multiple solid links are used to connect the main frame of the vehicle to the knuckle on the
wheel
3. Shock absorbers or springs- They are the flexible mechanical components that are used to absorb shock provided by
the road condition and is placed between the linkages ( wishbone. Solid axle, multi-links) and the main frame such that the
road shock is minimised before transmitting to the main frame of a vehicle.
On the basis of the application and type of suspension used shock absorbers are of many types that are-
(i) Spring and damper type shock absorber- It is the type of shock absorber in which a pneumatic or hydraulic piston
known as damper is used that provides damping by absorbing the road shocks.
This damper is surrounded by a compression coil spring which is a elastic mechanical constraint that compresses when
force is applied by the bump and recoil back or regains its original shape and size when the force is removed.
It is used to maintain the surface contact of the tyres with the road by providing stiffness (resistance to compress), also
maintain the damper at its original length after absorbing the shock.
(ii) Leaf spring- It is the type of spring in which a number of ductile metal plates called leaf are arranged in a special
pattern i.e. one over one in ascending order of their length, leaves of the leaf spring shock absorber are pre-stressed such
that when the shock is transferred by the wheels these pre stressed leaves being ductile tries to regain their original shape
i.e. straighten,. Due to which shock is absorbed by the leaves .
This type of shock absorber can be easily seen in trucks on the road in which leaf spring shock absorber is used in
between the solid or live axle and the main frame of the vehicle.
(iii) Air spring- It is the latest type of shock absorbers which can be easily seen in Volvo buses, in air spring shock
absorbers the damping of shock is a function of air compression, which means air is used as a shock absorber.
The air needed for different load conditions is controlled and monitored by the Electric control unit of the vehicle.
Independent Suspension
To understand the working of the independent suspension let’s take the example of the formula cars suspension in which
double wishbone with coil spring suspensions are used.
In formula cars independent double wishbone suspensions are used in which all the 4 tyres of the formula car are
independent to move i.e. there is no relative motion between them.
Working
Let assume that the bump is in left side of the vehicle and at the instant the front left tyre comes in contact with it.
When the left tyre of the formula car hits the road bump which in turn causes front left tyre to lift upward and as there
is no connection between the right and the left or front and the rear tyres this upward movement is only restricted to
the front left wheel.
The shock produced due to this road bump is absorbed by the compression type spring and dampers used in between
the wheel’s knuckle and the main frame, this shock is absorbed directly or through push roads that transfer the shock
from knuckle to the damper.
The stiffness of the spring and dampers used in independent double wishbone suspension is responsible for
maintaining the traction of the formula car’s wheel with the road.