VERTICAL DYNAMICS

The aim of vertical dynamics is the tuning of body suspension and damping to guarantee
good ride comfort, respectively a minimal stress of the load at sufficient safety.
Human response to vibration:
The passenger ride comfort (or discomfort) boundaries are difficult to determine because of
the variations in individual sensitivity to vibration and of a lack of a generally accepted method of
approach to the assessment of human response to vibration. A variety of methods for assessing human
tolerance to vibration is given below:
1. Subjective Ride Measurements.
The traditional technique for comparing vehicle ride quality in the automotive industry
in the past is to use a trained jury to rate the ride comfort, on a relative basis, of different
vehicles driven over a range of road surfaces. With a large enough jury and a well-designed
evaluation scheme, this method could provide a meaningful comparison of the ride quality of
different vehicles. The degree of difference in ride quality, however, cannot be quantitatively
determined by this type of subjective evaluation.
2. Shake Table Tests:
This method pertains to human response to sinusoidal excitation. It is intended to
identify zones of comfort (or discomfort) for humans in terms of vibration amplitude, velocity,
or acceleration in a given direction (such as foot-to-head, side-to-side, or back-to-chest) over
a specific frequency range.
3. Ride simulator tests:
In these tests, ride simulators are used to replicate the vibration of the vehicle traveling
over different road surfaces. In some facilities, an actual vehicle body is mounted on hydraulic
actuators, which reproduce vehicle motions in pitch, roll, and bounce (or heave). Road inputs
are fed into the actuators. Using the simulator, it is possible to establish a human tolerance
limit in terms of vibration parameters.
4. In – vehicle ride measurements:
This test method attempts to correlate the response of test subjects in qualitative terms,
such as "unpleasant" or "intolerable," with vibration parameters measured at the location where
the test subject is situated under actual driving conditions.
A number of ride comfort criteria have been proposed by researchers over the years. Two examples
of ride comfort criterion are discussed below:
1. Jane way’s comfort criterion:
This method is described in the Ride and Vibration Data Manual J6a of the Society of
Automotive Engineers. It defines the acceptable amplitude of vibration as a function of
frequency. It can be seen that as the frequency increases, the allowable amplitude decreases
considerably. The Jane way comfort criterion consists of three simple relationships, each of
which covers a specific frequency range, as shown in Fig. In the frequency range 1-6 Hz, the
peak value of jerk, which is the product of the amplitude and the cube of the circular frequency,
should not exceed 12.6 m/s3 (496 in./s3). For instance, at 1 Hz (2ra~dls ), the recommended
 limit for amplitude is 12.6 m.s-3/(2πs-1)3 = 0.0508 m (2 in.). In the frequency range 6-20 Hz,
the peak value of acceleration, which is the product of the amplitude and the square of the
circular frequency, should be less than 0.33 m/s2 (13 in./s2), whereas in the range 20-60 Hz,
the peak value of velocity, which is the product of the amplitude and the circular frequency,
should not exceed 2.7 mm/s (0.105 in/s).

2. International Standard IS0 2631:

This is recommended for the evaluation of vibrational environments in transport
vehicles as well as in industry, and it defines three distinct limits for whole-body vibration in
the frequency range 1-80 Hz:
i) Exposure limits, which are related to the preservation of safety (or health), and should
not be exceeded without special justification
ii) Fatigue or decreased proficiency boundaries, which are related to the preservation of
working efficiency and apply to such tasks as driving a road vehicle or a tractor.
iii) Reduced comfort boundaries, which are concerned with the preservation of comfort
and in transport vehicles are related to such functions as reading, writing, and eating in
a vehicle.
The figure shows the fatigue or decreased proficiency boundaries for vertical vibration,
which are defined in terms of root-mean-square values (rms) of acceleration as a
function of frequency for various exposure times.

Fig.: Jane way’s criterion Fig. ISO 2631

Function of suspension systems:
1. To isolate a car body from road disturbances in order to provide good ride quality:
A well-designed suspension provides isolation by reducing the vibratory forces
transmitted from the axle to the vehicle body. This in turn reduces vehicle body acceleration.
In the case of the quarter car suspension, sprung mass acceleration z̈s can be used to quantify
ride quality.
2. To keep good road holding:
Road holding capability is characterized in terms of its cornering, braking and traction
abilities. Improved cornering, braking and traction are obtained if the variations in normal tire
loads are minimized. This is because the lateral and longitudinal forces generated by a tire
depend directly on the normal tire load. Since a tire roughly behaves like a spring in response
to vertical forces, variations in normal tire load can be directly related to vertical tire deflection
( zu - zr ) . The road holding performance of a suspension can therefore be quantified in terms
of the tire deflection performance.
3. To provide good handling:
The roll and pitch accelerations of a vehicle during cornering, braking and traction are
measures of good handling. Half-car and full-car models can be used to study the pitch and
roll performance of a vehicle. A good suspension system should ensure that roll and pitch
motions are minimized.
4. To support the vehicle static weight:
This task is performed well if the rattle space requirements in the vehicle are kept
small. In the case of the quarter car model, it can be quantified in terms of the maximum
suspension deflection ( zs - zu ) undergone by the suspension.
Types of suspension system:
Based on type of control, suspension systems can be classified as:
1. Passive
2. Active and
3. Semi-active
Passive suspension:
A passive suspension system is one in which the
characteristics of the components (springs and dampers)
are fixed. These characteristics are determined by the
designer of the suspension, according to the design goals
and the intended application. Passive suspension design is
a compromise between vehicle handling and ride comfort.
A heavily damped suspension will yield good vehicle
handling, but also transfers much of the road input to the
vehicle body. lightly damped suspension will yield a more
comfortable ride, but can significantly reduce the stability
of the vehicle in turns.
Active suspension:
In an active suspension, the passive damper or both the passive damper and spring are replaced
with a force actuator. The force actuator is able to both add and dissipate energy from the system,
unlike a passive damper, which can only dissipate energy. With an active suspension, the force actuator
can apply force independent of the relative displacement or velocity across the suspension. Given the
correct control strategy, this results in a better compromise between ride comfort and vehicle stability
as compared to a passive system.
Semi-active suspension:
In this type, the conventional spring element is retained, but the damper is replaced with a
controllable damper. Whereas an active suspension system requires an external energy source to power
an actuator that controls the vehicle, a semi-active system uses external power only to adjust the
damping levels, and operate an embedded controller and a set of sensors.

Design of passive suspension system:

Vehicle dynamic models of a four-wheeler (car):
Three types of mathematical models are employed for the dynamic analysis of a four-wheeler.
They are: 1. Quarter car model, 2. Half car model and 3. Full car model. The vertical dynamics of a
vehicle is explained using each of the types:
1. Quarter car model:
It represents the automotive system at each wheel i.e.
the motion of the axle and of the vehicle body at any one of the
four wheels of the vehicle. The suspension itself is shown to
consist of a spring ks , a damper bs. The sprung mass ms represents
the quarter car equivalent of the vehicle body mass. The unsprung
mass mu represents the equivalent mass due to the axle and tire.
The vertical stiffness of the tire is represented by the spring kt .
The variables zs , zu and zr represent the vertical displacements
from static equilibrium of the sprung mass, unsprung mass and
the road respectively. A two-degree-of-freedom “quarter-car”
automotive suspension system is shown in the figure. Quarter car
model is excellent to examine and optimize the body bounce mode of vibrations.
2. Half car model:
To include pitch and other modes of vibrations, the half car model is employed. In the
half car model, the pitch and heave motions of the vehicle body (θ and z ) and the vertical
translation of the front and rear axles ( zu1 and zu2 ) are represented.
3. Full car model:
A full car model of a
suspension with 7 rigid body
degrees of freedom is shown in
Figure. The vehicle body is
represented by the sprung mass m
while the mass due to the axles
and tires are represented by the
unsprung masses mu1, mu2, mu3
and mu4. The springs and dampers
between the sprung and unsprung
mass represent the vehicle
suspension. The vertical stiffness
of each of the 4 tires are
represented by the springs kt1, kt2,
kt3 and kt4. The seven degrees of
freedom of the full car model are
the heave z, pitch θ and roll φ of
the vehicle body and the vertical motions of each of the four unsprung masses. The variables
zr1, zr2, zr3 and zr4 are the road profile inputs that excite the system.
Analysis of car models:
1. Quarter car model:
The mathematical eqn. for the quarter car model is given by:

where

The state space function is given by

where
Natural frequencies and mode shapes for the quarter car model:
The two undamped natural frequencies of the quarter-car suspension system ω1 and ω2 are
determined by solving the equation
Det (-ω2M + K) = 0

The tire stiffness is much higher than the suspension stiffness, we make the approximations
Influence of Suspension Parameters on Sprung Mass Vibrations:

Influence of Suspension Parameters on Unsprung Mass Vibrations:

Half car model:

The displacements of the car body at the two suspension locations are related to z and θ by

The equations of motion is given by:

The natural frequencies are given by:

Conclusions:
a) Decreasing suspension stiffness improves ride quality and road holding. However, it
increases rattle space requirements.
b) Increased suspension damping reduces resonant vibrations at the sprung mass frequency.
However, it also results in increased high frequency harshness.
c) Increased tire stiffness provides better road holding but leads to harsher ride at frequencies
above the unsprung mass frequency.
d) An analysis of the full car and half car models’ response to road irregularities indicated that
the suspensions can be designed independently at each wheel. The quarter car suspension
model is therefore adequate to study and design automotive suspension systems for optimizing
response to road irregularities.
e) To study the influence of cornering on vehicle roll and the influence of braking and
longitudinal acceleration on vehicle pitch, half car and/or full car models must be used.
Notes on transfer function:
A practical system:

Input Practical system Output

Block diagram of the system:

Excitation Response
Transfer function
(Input) (Output)

Note:
It is not necessary that output and input of a control system are of same category.
- For example, in electric motors the input is electrical signal whereas the output is
mechanical signal since electrical energy required to rotate the motors.
- Similarly, in an electric generator, the input is mechanical signal and the output is
electrical signal, since mechanical energy is required to produce electricity in a generator.

Procedure:
1. Form the equations for the system
2. Take Laplace transform of the system equations, assuming initial conditions as zero
3. Specify system output and input
4. Take the ratio of the Laplace transform of the output and the Laplace transform of the input
which is the required transfer function
In notation:

Where r(t) and c(t) are time domain function of input and output signal respectively
Transfer function – Poles & Zeros
The general representation of a function in polynomial form is

Thus, transfer function can be written as

K is known as gain factor of the transfer function.

Zeros:
In the above function if s = z1, or s = z2, or s = z3....s = zn, the value of transfer function
becomes zero. These z1, z2, z3....zn, are roots of the numerator polynomial. As for these roots the
numerator polynomial, the transfer function becomes zero, these roots are called zeros of the transfer
function.
Poles:
If s = p1, or s = p2, or s = p3....s = pm, the value of transfer function becomes infinite. Thus, the
roots of denominator are called the poles of the function.
If s approaches to infinity as the roots are all finite number, they can be ignored compared to the
infinite s. Therefore

Note:
Laplace Transform:
Let f(t) be defined for t ≥ 0. The Laplace transform of f(t), denoted by F(s) or L{f(t)}, is an
integral transform given by the Laplace integral: