Lecture - 2 and 3

1
Requirements
of Suspension
system
MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab
2
Vehicle
Coordinates
System

Suspension Product Specifications 3
 Suspension plays an important role in the handling and comfort

characteristics of a vehicle.
Function Requirements
Prevents the vehicle body and frame from road shocks. There should be minimum deflection.
Gives stability of the vehicle and allows front wheels to turn for
It should be of low initial cost.
steering. (Anti-Dive, Anti-Roll, Anti-Squat, Wheel Alignments)
Gives the good road holding while driving, cornering and braking. It should be of minimum weight.
It should have low maintenance and low
Gives cushioning effect.
operating cost.
Allows front wheel for steering It should have minimum tire wear.
4
Suspension
Product
Specifications
5
Wheel Alignments
play a key role in
vehicle stability and
handling performance
6
Camber angle
&
king pin inclination

7
Caster
angle

8
Anti-Dive
&
Anti-Squat

TYPES OF SUSPENSION SYSTEM 9
Suspension
Systems
Semi-
Dependent Independent
dependent
The Hotchkiss
Trailing arms rear
suspension
Double MacPherson Multi-link Swing axles Trailing arms

wishbones strut suspensions

Dependent 10
&
Independent
Suspension
❑ Independent suspension allows one

wheel to move up or down without
appreciably affecting the other.
❑ The design of the control arm keeps

the wheel upright.
❑ This is the preferred system for most

modern vehicles.

11
The Hotchkiss rear suspension
For those vehicles where ride is not of

primary importance they are still widely
used.
An example of this is the mid-range

commercial van where load carrying
capacity is important

12
Trailing arms
 Various configurations are possible, provided

that they permit vertical and roll freedoms. Either
coil or air springs can be used, the latter tending
to give better ride performance. Lateral control
can be provided by angling the upper links.
 Compared to the Hotchkiss system, the four-link

design gives greater flexibility in the choice of
roll-center location anti-squat and anti-dive
geometry and roll-steer.
13
Semi-dependent systems
 In this form of suspension, the rigid connection

between pairs of wheels is replaced by a
compliant link.
 This usually takes the form of a beam which can

bend and flex providing both positional control of
the wheels as well as compliance.
 Such systems tend to be very simple in

construction but lack scope for design flexibility.

14
MacPherson strut
 Advantages
❑ Simple and low cost
 Disadvantages:
❑ The installation height can be a problem when a

low hood line is required by the vehicle stylist;
❑ The strut has to react against a moment imposed

by wheel loading, but this problem can be lessened
by angling the suspension spring.
15
Double wishbones
 Advantages: The double wishbones provide the

constructional strength to react transverse and
longitudinal loads.
 Disadvantages:

16
Trailing arms
 This is used in rear axle applications with either front or rear

wheel drive. It can be used with a variety of springs including
torsion bars, coil springs, rubber springs or hydro-elastic types.
 It is a relatively low-cost form of suspension but offers little

flexibility in terms of kinematic design options.
 Camber change is the same as body roll and caster change

can be substantial. There is no toe change so roll steer is zero.

17
Swing axles
 This is a very simple form of suspension used with driven axles.

With short swing axles the camber changes and tire scrub
can be considerable for the range of suspension travel.
 This form of suspension is particularly prone to suspension

jacking.

18
Swing axles
 This is a very simple form of suspension used with driven axles.

With short swing axles the camber changes and tire scrub
can be considerable for the range of suspension travel.
 This form of suspension is particularly prone to suspension

jacking.

19
Semi-trailing arms
 This type of suspension is a cross between the swing axle and

pure trailing arm designs. It allows a compromise between
the control of camber and jacking.
 It is essential that the geometry is carefully selected to limit

the amount of steer induced by the trail angle.
 However, this is a feature which can be exploited to provide

small amounts of rear wheel steer to improve handling
performance.

20
Multi-link suspensions
 There is a wide variety of multi-link designs. Figure shows a

five-link design which is used to control the separate
functions required of a suspension.
 The ends of the links are mounted in flexible bushes, which

are necessary because the mechanism is over-constrained
kinematically.

21
Suspension components
Bearing components or linkages
 These are part of the mechanism linking the wheel to the body
and guarantee the degrees of freedom of the wheels and
their correct positions with reference to the ground.
 They determine the relative motion of the wheel with

reference to the vehicle body; they also transfer to the body
part of the load delivered from the tire contact patch.

22
Primary elastic members
 These include springs (coil, torsion bar and leaf springs), anti-roll bars
and stop springs.
 These members connect the wheel to the body elastically and store
the energy produced by an uneven road profile.
 They not only store this energy but determine body position as a
function of payload entity and position.
Suspension 23
components
examples:
Suspension 24
components
examples:
25
Secondary elastic members
 These are elastic bushings on linkage joints. To some

of these joints is given a certain elastic compliance.
 This property was originally seen as a drawback to

avoiding joint lubrication by using elastomeric joints.
 The deformation of these joints plays an important

role in determining vehicle handling.

26
Damping members
 These are basically shock absorbers, but we should
remember that primary and secondary elastic members
also have a non-negligible capacity of wasting energy.
 Shock absorbers are provided to waste the elastic

energy stored by the elastic members and to allow the
oscillation damping of the vehicle body, avoiding
stationary vibration or resonance.
27


Lecture - 2 and 3

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Lecture - 2 and 3

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lecture - 2 and 3

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

 Suspension plays an important role in the handling and comfort

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

Double MacPherson Multi-link Swing axles Trailing arms

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

❑ Independent suspension allows one

❑ The design of the control arm keeps

❑ This is the preferred system for most

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

For those vehicles where ride is not of

An example of this is the mid-range

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

 Various configurations are possible, provided

 Compared to the Hotchkiss system, the four-link

 In this form of suspension, the rigid connection

 This usually takes the form of a beam which can

 Such systems tend to be very simple in

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

❑ Simple and low cost

❑ The installation height can be a problem when a

❑ The strut has to react against a moment imposed

 Advantages: The double wishbones provide the

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

 This is used in rear axle applications with either front or rear

 It is a relatively low-cost form of suspension but offers little

 Camber change is the same as body roll and caster change

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

 This is a very simple form of suspension used with driven axles.

 This form of suspension is particularly prone to suspension

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

 This is a very simple form of suspension used with driven axles.

 This form of suspension is particularly prone to suspension

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

 This type of suspension is a cross between the swing axle and

 It is essential that the geometry is carefully selected to limit

 However, this is a feature which can be exploited to provide

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

 There is a wide variety of multi-link designs. Figure shows a

 The ends of the links are mounted in flexible bushes, which

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

Bearing components or linkages

 They determine the relative motion of the wheel with

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

Primary elastic members

Secondary elastic members

 These are elastic bushings on linkage joints. To some

 This property was originally seen as a drawback to

 The deformation of these joints plays an important

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

 Shock absorbers are provided to waste the elastic

MEA221: Vehicle Design and Simulation(1)

You might also like