MV 6141

VEHICLE SYSTEMS

CHAPTER-4
Vehicle Suspension

Taught by LTC Dr. Menelik Walle

Dept. of Motor Vehicle Engineering
Defence University, College of Engineering
Email: menelikiitg@gmail.com
Mobile: +251991069839
All Rights Reserved
 SUSPENSION SYSTEM

When people consider purchasing a new vehicle, they normally think of horsepower, torque, 0–100 km/h acceleration, and fuel economy.
However, they are likely unaware about an important factor; the engine’s power or vehicle speed are utterly useless if the driver cannot control the vehicle.
Certainly, many people may recognize the importance of the suspension for ride comfort, but they are less aware about the complete range of vehicle
suspension duties.
In fact, in addition to ride comfort, the suspension system plays an important role in vehicle performance, stability, and safety.
Accordingly, automotive engineers turn their attention to the suspension system, an area usually ignored by customers considering a purchase.

To many focusing on ride comfort, it may seem like the suspension system is merely a set of springs and shock absorbers which connect the wheels to the vehicle
body. However, this is a very simplistic viewpoint of the suspension system.
A vehicle suspension system provides a smooth ride over rough roads while ensuring that the wheels remain in contact with the ground and vehicle roll is
minimized.
The suspension system contains three major parts: a structure that supports the vehicle’s weight and determines suspension geometry, a spring that
converts kinematic energy to potential energy or vice versa, and a shock absorber that is a mechanical device designed to dissipate kinetic energy.

An automotive suspension connects a vehicle’s wheels to its body while supporting the vehicle’s weight.
It allows for the relative motion between wheel and vehicle body; theoretically, a suspension system should reduce a wheel’s degree of freedom (DOF) from 6
to 2 on the rear axle and to 3 on the front axle even though the suspension system must support propulsion, steering, brakes, and their associated forces.
The relative motions of the wheels are its vertical movement, rotational movement about the lateral axes, and rotational movement about the vertical axes due
to steer angle.
 FUNCTIONS OF SUSPENSION SYSTEMS

As previously mentioned, it is mostly assumed that the only function of a suspension system is the absorption of road roughness; however, the suspension of
a vehicle needs to satisfy a number of requirements with partially conflicting aims as a result of different operating conditions.

The suspension connects the vehicle’s body to the ground, so all forces and moments between the two go through the suspension system. Thus, the suspension
system directly influences a vehicle’s dynamic behavior. Automotive engineers usually study the functions of a suspension system through three important
principle.
a) Ride Comfort: it is defined based on how a passenger feels within a moving vehicle. The most common duty of the suspension system is road isolation,
that is isolating a vehicle body from road disturbances. Generally, ride quality can be quantified by the passenger compartment’s level of vibration.
 There are a lot of inner and outer vibration sources in a vehicle. Inner vibration sources include the vehicle’s engine and transmission, whereas road surface
irregularities and aerodynamic forces are the outer vibration sources.
b) Road Holding: The forces on the contact point between a wheel and the road act on the vehicle body through the suspension system. The amount and
direction of the forces determine the vehicle’s behavior and performances, therefore one of the important tasks of the suspension system is road
holding.
 The lateral and longitudinal forces generated by a tire depend directly on the normal tire force, which supports cornering, traction, and braking abilities.
c) Handling: A good suspension system should ensure that the vehicle will be stable in every maneuver. However, perfect handling is more than stability.
The vehicle should respond to the driver’s inputs proportionally while smoothly following his/her steering/braking/accelerating commands.
 The vehicle behavior must be predictable, and behavioral information should accordingly be communicated to the driver. Suspension systems can affect the
vehicle’s roll and pitch motion, the wheels’ angles, and the lateral load transfer during cornering (i.e. decrease).
 SUSPENSION SYSTEM OBJECTIVES

To provide good ride and handling performance:

o Vertical compliance providing chassis isolation
o Ensuring that the wheels follow the road profile
oVery little tire load fluctuation

To ensure that steering control is maintained during maneuvering:
o Wheels to be maintained in the proper position wrt road surface

To ensure that the vehicle responds favorably to control forces produced by the tires during:
o Longitudinal braking
oAccelerating forces,
o Lateral cornering forces and
oBraking and accelerating torques
oThis requires the suspension geometry to be designed to resist squat, dive and roll of the vehicle body

To provide isolation from high frequency vibration from tire excitation
o Requires appropriate isolation in the suspension joints
o Prevent transmission of ‘road noise’ to the vehicle body
 MAIN COMPONENTS OF SUSPENSION SYSTEMS

A vehicle suspension system is made of four main components-mechanism, spring, shock absorber, and
bushings-as shown in Fig.
a) Mechanism: The suspension mechanism might contain one or several arms that connect a wheel to
the vehicle body. They transfer all forces and moments in different directions between the vehicle
body and the ground. The mechanism determines some of the most important characteristics of a
suspension system.
b) Spring: The spring is usually a winding wire or a number of strips of metal that have elastic
properties. It supports the vehicle’s weight and makes a suspension tolerable for passengers. To
best understand suspension behavior, the most important component requiring study is the spring.
c) Shock absorber: The shock absorber is a mechanical or hydraulic device to dampen impulses. A high
damping shock absorber compromises the vehicle’s ride quality in order to immediately dampen
Fig. : The main components of a suspension system.
impulses to improve handling and road holding.
d) Bushings: The bushings prevent the direct contact of two metal objects in order to isolate noise and
minimize vibration. Soft materials such as rubber is used in bushings for isolation. In fact, they are
a type of vibration isolator used to connect various moving components to the vehicle body or
suspension frame.
 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD SUSPENSION SYSTEM

Evaluation of overall performance of the suspension system the following to be considered.

Vibration Isolation
This can be evaluated by the response of the sprung mass (output) to the excitation from the ground (input). Usually, the transmissibility ratio
(or transfer function) can be used as a basis for assessing the vibration isolation characteristics of a linear suspension system.
Suspension Travel
This is measured by the deflection of the suspension spring or by the relative displacement between the sprung and unsprung mass (Z- Y). It
defines the space required to accommodate the suspension spring movement between bump and rebound stops, commonly known as the
"rattle space.“
Road holding
When the vehicle system vibrates, the normal force acting between the tire and the road fluctuates. Since the cornering force, tractive effort,
and braking effort developed by the tire are related to the normal load on the tire, the vibration of the tire affects the road holding capability
and influences the handling and performance of the vehicle.

The normal force between the tire and the road during vibration can be represented by the dynamic tire deflection or by the displacement of the
unsprung mass relative to the road surface.
 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD SUSPENSION SYSTEM

Design Requirements of Tank Suspension

 Improve Mobility: Suspension improves mobility by cushioning the vehicle body and its contents from terrain induced shocks and
vibrations.
 Support Vehicle Body/hull at some selected height: Support the vehicle body /hull at the design height from ground. It permits the
vehicle to negotiate deep mud, snow, soft sand with out being bellied.
 Provide Lateral Stability: When negotiating a curve the centrifugal force acting on the vehicle together with the cornering force
developed by the ground contacting elements act as a couple which tends to over turn the vehicle outward about the outer
wheels/track. This causes the c.g of the vehicle shift towards outside of the curve, thereby increasing the vertical load on the
elastic support system on that side and decreasing the vertical load on the inside curve. This unbalance has to be taken by
suspension system.
 Provide Longitudinal Stability: Instability of the body/hull in longitudinal direction is caused due to operations on slopes,
acceleration, braking, firing etc. This couple try to rotate the body about loaded axis which has to absorbed by suspension.
 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD SUSPENSION SYSTEM

Design Requirements of Tank Suspension

 Selective Distribution of Weight on Ground: The way in which the weight is distributed on ground has bearing on sinkage, rolling resistance,
draw bar pull etc.
 Adjust for Terrain Irregularities: To permit the unsprung mass to follow closely the irregular contours of the ground with minimum
disturbance to vehicle body. That means the capability of varying its vertical height to adjust the terrain irregularities.
 Comfort to Crew: Crew comfort depends not only on amplitude but also frequency of the surface irregularities.
Protect from Shock and Vibration Damage: Suspension elements must be strong enough to withstand the pounding to which they are subjected
while moving.
Provide Traction Contact with Ground: When operating on soft sand, snow, mud etc. good contact with surface (traction) is achieved through
suspension system.
Transmit Driving and Braking Torque: The driving and the braking torques are transmitted through suspension system to ground.
Obstacle Crossing Capability
Provide means and stability for changing course
Provide Stable Gun Platform
 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD SUSPENSION SYSTEM

Requirements of tank suspension

Tank suspension is the group of parts/units and mechanisms through which the tank hull is connected with the axles of the road wheels.
The design goals of tank suspension are:
 Transmit the tank weight through the road wheels and the track to ground with minimum pressure.
 Damp the shocks and vibrations acting on the tank hull
 To damp quickly the oscillations of hull particularly after firing the main gun.
 Maximizing mobility and durability of all systems.

For enough smoothness of tank motion in different road and ground conditions:
o The complete dynamic travels of the road wheels are to be increased, thereby increasing the shock absorbing capacity of the
suspension system.
o Preference is given to suspensions with optimal nonlinear anti-resonance characteristics
o Powerful shock absorbers are required for ensuring quick damping of the oscillations of the tank hull on the robust suspension.
o To improve the smoothness of tank motion, suspensions with adjustable ground clearance and spring rate and use of shock
absorbers with adjustable resistance coefficient.
 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION

Wheeled vehicles have been commonly used to carry passenger or goods for centuries. But these vehicles immediately loose
their functionality when they are used out of their specifically designed roads.
oFor this reason, a number of vehicles have been designed to be used off the roads. Big wheels, for example, have been
used in agricultural tractors to be able to avoid soil penetration and pass over the obstacles. Caterpillar treads have been
used, on the other hand, in army tanks and snow removal equipments in which high traction force is needed.
 On both systems, the main principal is increasing the traction force by increasing the contact area between wheels (or
threads) and ground.
 In caterpillar system there is a limited amount of adaptation to the earth surface but generally in both off-road
systems the surface of earth is adapt to the vehicle by compression under wheels.
oIndeed, there are a lot of rough terrain profiles at which both of these two systems are insufficient. On rocky terrains
(especially with rocks higher than wheel radius), say, these conventional systems can not be used and new concept designs
are required. On most of these new designs, not the rough terrain is adapted to the vehicle; on the contrary, vehicle is
adapted to the rough terrain.
 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION

The basic functions of the suspension system are:

1. To provide a flexible support for the vehicle, so that its occupants ride comfortably isolated from the imperfections of the road surface. Soft
spring is required for ride comfort.
2. To stabilize the vehicle under all conditions of driver handling, like cornering, braking and accelerating maneuvers. Hard spring is required for
better handling.
 These basic requirements in respect of vehicle ride and handling tend to conflict in actual practice, since ‘soft’ springing is recommended on the one
hand and relatively ‘hard’ springing on the other.
 A successful design of suspension system is therefore one that achieves an acceptable compromise between these two areas of conflict.
i. Vertical loading: When the road wheel comes across the bump or a pit on the road it is subjected to vertical forces (tensile or compressive) depending
on the load irregularity which are absorbed by the elastic compression, shear, bending, twisting properties of spring.
To reduce the pitching tendency of the vehicle, the front system should be less springing than the rear suspension system.
ii. Rolling: The center of gravity (C.G.) of the vehicle is considerably above the ground. As a result while taking turns the centrifugal force acts outwards
on the C.G. of vehicle, while the load resistance acts inwards at the wheels.
This give rise to a couple turning the vehicle about the longitudinal axis called rolling.
 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION

iii) Brake dip and squat : On applying brakes the nose of the vehicle dips which depends on the position of C.G. relative to
the ground, wheel base and other suspension characteristics. This phenomenon is called as dip. In the same way the torque
loads during acceleration tend to lift the front of vehicle.
This effect is called as squat.
iv) Side thrust : Centrifugal force during cornering, crosswinds, cambering of the road causes side thrust.
v) Road holding: The degree to which vehicle maintains the contact with the road surface in various types of directional
changes as well as in straight line motion is called as road holding.
vi) Unsprung weight : it is the weight of the vehicle components between suspension and road surface (Rear axle assembly,
steering knuckle, front axle, wheels).
 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION

When the wheels rise and fall over road surface irregularities, the springs of suspension system momentarily act as energy
storage devices and thereby reduce the magnitude of impact loading transmitted by the suspension system to the vehicle
structure.
The energy of impact loading is related to the product of the disturbing force and the distance over which it is
constrained to act by the spring medium.
 Hence a soft or low-rate spring, which permits a more deflection for a moderate loading will reduce the impact or
disturbing forces transmitted to the vehicle occupants to a minimum.
 The rate of the spring is equal to the load per unit of deflection.

The energy storage capacity of any spring at a stress level is important characteristic of its material and configuration. The
energy stored by the spring is represented by the area under the load-deflection curve, what ever shape it takes.
Leaf spring generally store much less energy than coil springs or torsion bars stressed to same level. Spring materials
other than steel have completely different characteristics. Rubber when used with gas or hydraulic fluid has much higher
capacity to store energy than steel.
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION

Type of spring Storage Capacity (Nm/kg)

Leaf Spring 50
Torsion Bar 200
Coil Spring 200
Hydrolastic Rubber 750
Gas Spring 1500
 VERTICAL TRAVEL OF ROAD WHEELS IN COMPARISON

The vertical movement which the different suspensions provide for the road wheels is generally considered in two parts.
oThe first and by far the more important of the two is called “bump” or “jounce” and covers the travel of the wheels from the static
laden position, when the springs are only acted on by the weight of the sprung mass of the vehicle, to the upper limit of their travel,
usually set by bump stops on the hull.
oThe second part, called “rebound”, covers wheel travel from the static laden position to the lower limit of travel, when there is no load on
the wheel or when the wheel is arrested short of this by suspension stops or the track.

The bump and rebound travel provided by a number of typical suspensions is listed in Table below, which indicates that bump may be no greater
than rebound but that more generally it is two to four times the latter.
If the load- deflection characteristics of the suspensions were linear and rebound travel were equal to the static deflection. Table would
also suggest that tank suspensions are designed so that the road wheels don't come up to the limit of their bump travel until the forces
acting on them are equal to between two and five times the static load.
In fact, only simple suspensions with metallic springs have been load- deflection characteristics which are approximately linear and in
most cases rebound is restricted to less than the static deflection.
Nevertheless forces on the wheels at full bump range from two to five or, in the extreme, six times the static load.
VERTICAL TRAVEL OF ROAD WHEELS IN COMPARSION
 VERTICAL TRAVEL OF ROAD WHEELS IN COMPARSION

Commonly known as a “bump stop,” the jounce bumper was

initially used to prevent the abrupt and harsh bottoming-out of
the suspension when under full compression.
 VERTICAL TRAVEL OF ROAD WHEELS IN COMPARSION
Table: Vertical travel of the road wheels of Tanks
Tank Suspension Type Vertical travel of the wheels, mm
bump rebound Total
T-3 Christie 120 120 20
Cromwell Christie 226 190 416
Wheel Travel Centurion Horstman 83/14+ 89 172/235+
 The vertical travel of the wheel due to the weight of Chieftain Horstman 8/1159+ 83 166/242+
the vehicle. Pz 68 Conical disc springs 206 70 276

Bump and Rebound Travel Merkava Mark 2 Coil springs 210 85-170 295-380

 It is additional to the vertical movement (wheel Merkava Mark 3 Coli springs 300 300 600
M48 Torsion bar 206 114 30
travel) due to weight, there is additional vertical M60A1 Torsion bar 165 127 292
travel of the wheel which is caused by the AMX-30 Torsion bar 186 92 278
irregularities of the ground during bump or, rebound. Leopard 1 Torsion bar 227-279 128-156 183-407
Maximum Wheel Travel Leopard 2 Torsion bar350 350 176 526

 It is the total vertical travel of the wheel due to M1 Torsion bar 380 178 558
S-Tank Hydropneumatic 181-324 198-219 379-5443
weight of the vehicle plus the bump travel.
MBT-0 Hydropneumatic 400 200 600
Challenger Hydropneumatic 350 100 4450
Osorio Hydropneumatic 330 70 400
 VERTICAL TRAVEL OF ROAD WHEELS IN COMPARISON

The greater the ratio of the force at full bump to the static load the less likely, or frequently, is the incidence of the bump stops being hit and therefore of
large impact forces being transmitted to the hull.
oIn consequence, the greater the ratio the more sever are the obstacles which can be negotiated at speed.
oHowever, short of the extreme conditions which cause the bump stops to be hit, the principal suspension requirement is for relatively soft springs and
this generally implies large bump travel.
oThus, the best suspensions are those which provided not only a high ratio of the force at full bump to the static load but also large bump travel. The two
go together, of course, in the case of suspensions with linear load- deflection characteristics and wheel travel has been used therefore as a single
measure of the ability of tanks to negotiate obstacles at speed.
oIn fact, it has been related directly to the height of the obstacles over which tracked vehicles can ride at maximum speed.
For instance, bump travel of approximately 180mm has been put forward as necessary to ride over obstacles up to 130mm high, 330mm for
obstacles of up to 250mm, and so on.

Because wheel travel usually related to spring stiffness, large values of it are also associated with low natural frequencies, which are desirable for the
reasons indicated earlier.
oSome tanks built during the second world war still had a bounce natural frequency of more than 2 or even 3 Hz.
oBut others, with softer springs, already had a bounce frequency of about 1Hz and this has not been improved upon since then, most tanks produced in
recent years having a bounce frequency of between 1 and 1.5Hz..
 VERTICAL TRAVEL OF ROAD WHEELS IN COMPARISON

In all cases pitch natural frequency has been lower, being equal to between 0.55 and 0.7 of the bounce frequency. To achieve low natural
frequencies and large wheel travel a considerable amount of effort has been devoted to improving the springs used in tank suspensions.
o Since the use of independent suspensions with torsion bars, much of this effort has been directed at the improvement of torsion bar
springs. The basic problem with them has been that their performance depend on how much they can be twisted and that this is constrained
by two factors.
• One is their length which because of their transvers location, is limited in the case of simple torsion bar springs to the width of
tank hull. In consequence the length of torsion springs can only be increased by using either two bars or a bar within a torsion
tube, the two working in series in each case.
The first solution was adopted in 1942 in the German Panther tanks, which had two torsion bars mounted in parallel, the second
bar being connected to the end of the first bay a short balance beam and anchored at its other end to the hull wall.
• As a result, the total length of each spring unit was doubled, although at the cost of imposing some bending in addition to torsion
on the bars.
 The other solution was adopted in the 1960s in the United States and led to the development of spring units consisting of a torsion
bar within a torsion tube. In these case the outer ends of the bar and the of the tube were connected by a spline coupling and the
spring unit was anchored to the hull at the inner end of the tube.
 VERTICAL TRAVEL OF ROAD WHEELS IN COMPARISON

A torsion bar within a torsion tube has benefits as compared to bar springs .
• The tube over the bar arrangement again allowed the total length of the unit to be, virtually, twice that of a simple torsion bar spring
and, therefore, provided more angular deflection and wheel travel.
• More efficient use of spring material than bar, because it could be highly stressed.
• It protected the vulnerable outer skin of the bar from damage unaffected by any twisting of the hull.
• Easier to withdraw the spring in the event of damage.
• It is more expensive to manufacture- have not be adopted for tanks,, but they have come to use tracked vehicles i.e. armored infantry
fighting vehicles.

Instead, the development of torsion bar suspensions has concentrated since the early 1970s on the use of single torsion bars of higher
strength steel. These have allowed higher stresses to be imposed on the bars and, therefore, greater degrees of twist and more wheel travel
for any given length of bar.
Thus, during the Second World War torsion bar suspensions were still being designed to have a maximum shear stress of not more than
about 300Mn/m^2.
But improvements in the manufacturer of spring steels and of torsion bars resulted in a maximum shear stress of about 800MN/m^2
becoming the norm during the 1950s.
WHEEL FORCE VERSUS WHEEL TRAVEL

Fig. Force versus wheel travel from static laden position for a typical:
(1) vehicle with a simple torsion bar spring, and (2) with an auxiliary
spring giving rise load-deflection characteristics.
 BOGEY SUSPENSION CONCEPT, OPERATION, USAGE AND
LIMITATIONS

The bogie suspension is a type of oscillating mechanical suspension with multi-leaf springs which is used in agriculture to fit tandem
vehicles.
oIts main advantage is that vehicles can travel across particularly rough terrain, thanks to the wide oscillation movements which adapt
to the roughness of the ground.

Bogie suspension usually has two or more road wheels and some type of spring suspension to smooth the ride across rough terrain.
o Bogie suspensions keep much of their components on the outside of the vehicle, saving internal space.
o Although vulnerable to antitank fire, they can often be repaired or replaced in the field.
o The number of points of suspension to be at least two on each side
o A pair of wheels at either end of a pivoted beam
o Load carried at the pivot to be shared equally by them
o Besides improving ground contact also reduces the motion transmitted to the hull

The road wheels (also called bogies if they are mounted on trucks) support the tank while rolling over the caterpillar track.
BOGEY SUSPENSION
 BOGEY SUSPENSION

Purpose

Bogies serve a number of purposes:
oSupport of the rail vehicle body
oStability on both straight and curved track
oImprove ride quality by absorbing vibration and minimizing the impact of centrifugal forces when the train runs on curves at high
speed
oMinimizing generation of track irregularities and rail abrasion

Usually, two bogies are fitted to each carriage, wagon or locomotives, one at each end. Another configuration is often used in articulated
vehicles, which places the bogies (often Jacobs bogies) under the connection between the carriages or wagons.
oMost bogies have two axles, but some cars designed for heavy loads have more axles per bogie. Heavy-duty cars may have more than
two bogies using span bolsters to equalize the load and connect the bogies to the cars.
o Usually, the train floor is at a level above the bogies, but the floor of the car may be lower between bogies, such as for a bilevel rail
car to increase interior space while staying within height restrictions, or in easy-access, steeples-entry, low-floor trains.
 BOGEY SUSPENSION CONCEPT, OPERATION, USAGE AND
LIMITATIONS

Advantages
Easy to change damaged system
Mounted externally therefore occupy less hull space.
Cost advantages- simple design and comparatively cheap
Limitations
Limited wheel travel, not suitable for cross country move at high speeds
At high speed the inertia of linkage upsets the static balance & the loads are no longer equalised.
Suitable only up to 40 km/ hr
 TORSION BAR SUSPENSION

The main reason for the widespread adoption of torsion bar suspension has been their light weight and the high levels of performance than can be
achieved with them.
The light weight is due, in turn, to the basic simplicity of torsion bar suspensions and to the ability of torsion bars to store more energy in relation
to their weight than other springs.

A torsion bar suspension, also known as torsion spring suspension uses a straight steel bar generally of circular cross section and property of torsion
as weight bearing spring.
o One end of the long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end terminates in a lever, the torsion lever, mounted
perpendicular to the bar, that is attached to a suspension arm, a spindle, or the wheel axle.
o Vertical motion of the wheel causes the bar to twist around its axis and is resisted by the torsion resistance of the bar.
o The effective spring rate of the bar is determined by its length, cross section, shape and material.

These are simples length of steel tube, bar or rod, in rod form. The equivalent of a coil spring before it has been coiled. Given suitable support at each
end it will twist under, a given load by a precise and calculable amount .
In a torsion spring the elastic properties of a long thin “bar” in torsion is used to produce rectilinear spring rate that is comparable to that of a coil
spring. The spring load or force is usually converted to torque around the centerline of the bar by mean of a lever arm at one, or both ends. Figure
below shows a scheme of a torsion bar.
 TORSION BAR SUSPENSION

The torsion bar itself may have any number of different cross
sections, but in this case, will concern just about the circular one,
which is better for residual stress and stress concentration.
 DESINGING A TORSION SPRING IN AUTOMOBILES

To start a spring design, the vehicle must be well defined. The working loads, the ride height, the suspension travel and spring rate must be known.
oThe position in the car, the space and available material must be determined as well.
• Our proposal starts from the definitions of the previous characteristics, such as the spring calculation became the first step of the methodology.
• In other words, the engineer will start from the loads, evaluating the correct spring rate as it meets the suspension travel and defining a spring
length which matches with the available space.
• The total process can be easily understand, however it can become to an overloaded one.

The torsion bar design starts from the point of all the car parameters are defined well. Torsion bars tend to be simpler, since the number of variables is
smaller. The designer works basically with material, diameter and length. But the apparent simplicity can be leads to other kind of difficulties, as described as
follows.
a) Torsion Bar Principle: The working principle of a torsion bar is a shaft under torsion stresses. There is no other kind of force being applied and material is
working up to the elastic limit. Before apply mathematics into the problem, some considerations are needed in order to the theory be valid:
oBar is straight;
oIt has uniform cross section;
oIf tubular, inside and outside diameters are concentric;
oTorsional load only.
 DESINGING A TORSION SPRING IN AUTOMOBILES

Figure below shows, the components of the torsional load. Where

• D is the bar outside diameter (the inside diameter,
• d is present as a tubular bar is used),
• L is the length of the effective part of the torsion bar
• R is the lever (where road wheel is fitted),
• θ is the angular deflection of the torsion bar, radians and
• P is the force, orthogonal to the lever arm in proposed model or Load acting on the lever arm to
which wheel is fitted,
• G = modulus of rigidity (shear modulus) = 73575 Mpa to 93195 Mpa for spring steel/for pre
stressed ESR Steel

From these variables it’s possible to determine:
• The spring rate (kT),
• Stress (ST), torsional/shear stress developed in the bar,(Pa), Fig.: Torsion bar mechanism (SAE Spring Comitee. Spring Design
Manual. Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc. Warrendale).
• Torque (T) , Torque applied on the torsion bar = Load (dynamic) x lever arm length and
• the wind up angle (θ), which are shown in the equations 1, 2, 3, and 4. Note that these
equations are applied only to solid cylindrical bars.
 DESINGING A TORSION SPRING IN AUTOMOBILES

T = P . R − − − − − (1 )
32 TL
θ = − − − − (2)
π D 4G
π D 4G
k T = − − − (3)
32 L
16 T
ST = − − − − (4)
πD 3
If a tubular cylindrical shape is used, equations 2, 3 and 4 must be modified as
shown by equations 5, 6 and 7.
32 TL
θ = − − − − (5 )
  d4 
π D 4 G  1 −  4
 
  D 
  d 4 
π D 4 G  1 −  
4 
Fig.: Torsion bar mechanism (SAE Spring Comitee. Spring Design
  D  Manual. Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc. Warrendale).
k T = − − − (6 )
32 L
16 T
ST = − − − − (7 )
  d 4 
π D  1 − 
3

4 
  D 
 DESINGING A TORSION SPRING IN AUTOMOBILES

Initially the equations will be written to the solid cylindrical section, as the tubular set will be describe at end of this section.
The Equation 18 shows the safety factor evaluation, since the bar diameter is a given data of the problem.
3
πD
n = − − − − (8 ) Where;
2 2
  Ta T    M a M  n -- the safety factor,
32 K  + m   + K  + m
 

fs
 Sn σe  
f
 Sn σ e  Kfs --- the stress concentration factor to torsion,
Ta ---- the alternate torque term,
Tm --- the mean torque term,
The torsion bar theory just considers torsion effects, what means that all effects regarding Sn ---- the bar fatigue resistance and
bending efforts can be neglected, as the Equation 8 becomes : σe ---- the yield strength of the material.
3
πD
n = − − − − (9 )
2
  Ta T    d4 
32 K fs
 + m   π D  1 − 
3
 
  Sn σe    D
4

n = − − − − (10 )
2
Important to note that Sn is a part issue, and not a material one. For a tubular shape   Ta T 
32 K fs
 + m  
bar, the Soderberg method to evaluate the safety factor is given by:   Sn σe 
 DESINGING A TORSION SPRING IN AUTOMOBILES

Torsion bars are typically mounted in a front-to-rear position on commercial vehicles, allowing bars to have greater length for
more up-and-down wheel travel. The attachment ends of torsion bars are usually either hex-shaped or splined, and mounted in an
anchor piece known as a "key".
The position of these keys can be adjusted with a wrench to vary a vehicle's overall ride height.
 PROS AND CONS TORSION BAR SUSPENSION

Before making an analysis in the torsion bar problem, it is more predictable and “pure” in how it will perform if unexposed to wear and appears easy
to install.

Or is it? Whether a round bar, square, laminated in strips, a tube or even a tube within a tube, it needs very strong anchor points, bearings in which to
rotate and a lever of some sort through which can be twisted under load. It does not want to contribute much to the vehicle design in other ways, and
demands links all of its own to the wheels or axles”.

The great advantage of the torsion bars is the less design steps to define the spring itself. It is really simple design and it has a pure working principle.
It is really easy to simulate its behavior and the stresses and strains as well.
oExtra links, bearings and lever arms is not a real problem. Actually, in Formula competition is really common the use of push/pull rods. This
requires designing lever arms and another links for any type of spring used.
oIn addition to that, torsion bars are cheap to make and can be produced compared with other suspensions, since they have ordinary machining
tools. Besides it’s easy to produce a set of torsion bars with different spring rates which can be fit to the vehicle.
 PROS AND CONS TORSION BAR SUSPENSION

The advantages of torsion bar suspensions used in tanks, are however accompanied by a number of disadvantages. Thus,, while the installation of the torsion
bars across the bottom of the tank hulls is simple and well protected.
o It also increases their height. This is undesirable in itself and it can also significantly increase the weight of tanks, particularly when they are heavily
armoured.
o Damaged torsion bars are also difficult to replace when a hull is distorted by mine blast.
o Moreover, the fact that torsion bars store a large amount of energy in relation to their weight means that their outside is highly stressed which makes
them vulnerable to surface damage.
In general torsion bar suspension:
Advantages:
Light weight.
Simplicity of design
High levels of performance due to their ability to store more energy.
Disadvantage:
It increases the height of the tank (about 100 mm in general).
Damaged torsion bars are difficult to replace when a hull is distorted
Torsion bar is vulnerable to mine blast. Remove and replacement is difficult as accessibility is less and possibility that fixed end may be corroded.
 TORSION BAR SUSPENSION DESIGN FACTORS, LAYOUT AND THE
SPRINGING MECHANISM

 The torsion bar springs used in military suspension system are straight bars of circular cross section splined at each end. The diameter varies
from 50 to 75 mm.
 The wheel travel is proportional to the length of the torsion bar, which in turn is restricted to the width of the tank. Though during early days of
torsion bar suspension system the wheel travel that could be achieved was only 250-300 mm.
 As on date maximum wheel travel of more than 500 mm has been achieved with the following:-

1. Pre-stressing is performed in the direction of loading.

2. Material used is Electro Slag Refined (ESR) steel

Longitudinal bar in automobile

 TORSION BAR SUSPENSION DESIGN FACTORS, LAYOUT AND THE
SPRINGING MECHANISM

Torsion Bars are high quality steel rods of 50-70 mm diameter with splines at both ends.
 One end is joined to the road wheel hub & the other is enclosed in the hull.
 Length is equal to the width of the hull between the tracks.
 TORSION BAR SUSPENSION DESIGN FACTORS, LAYOUT AND THE
SPRINGING MECHANISM

Drawbacks
o Pre-stressing. Due to pre-stressing the right side and left side bars must be produced separately and are not
interchangeable.
o Difficulty in getting enough wheel travel. Early designs had only 130 mm travel. With improved material like ESR steel the
wheel travel now reached up to 550 mm.
oSpring characteristics is linear. So it is difficult to obtain a sufficiently high force at full bump. This is resolved by use of a
bump stop. Another way is to use a second torsion bar acting parallel with main bar, but come in to action only at later part of
travel of main bar.
 TORSION BAR SUSPENSION

Exercise -1

A torsion bar suspension is to be designed with following requirements:
• To support a maximum static load of 3500 N at the end of a lever arm 280 mm long.
• The total angle of deflection 900.
• Assume a safe allowable stress of 784800 kPa
• Modulus of rigidity, G = 73575 Mpa.
Calculate:-
1. Diameter of the torsion bar.
2. The effective length of the tension bar.
3. The spring rate of the bar.
 TORSION BAR SUSPENSION

Exercise - 1 d=3
16 × T
Given Data: π × ST
Maximum static load = 3500N
Assume maximum dynamic load twice the static load, W = 7000N 16 × 190
d=3 = 23.34 mm = 0.023344 m
Lever arm length, l = 280 mm π × 84800 × 1000
Angular deflection, θ = 90°= 1.5708 radians
Torsional stress developed in the bar, ST = Td/2J = 16T/πd3 =784800 kPa Length of th bar, L =
θGd
Moment or torque acting on the bar, T = P x R = 7000 x 0.280 = 1960 Nm 2×ST
6
Diameter of the bar, d = L=
1.5708 × 73575 × 10 × 0.02334
2 × 784800 × 103
L = 1.72 m

T πd 4 G
spring rate =
=
θ 32L
T π × 0.023344 × 73573 × 106
⇒ =
θ 32 × 1.72
T
⇒ = 1245.62 Nm
θ
 TORSION BAR SUSPENSION

Exercise -2
A torsion bar is to be designed with following specifications:
 Maximum static load to be supported, P = 7500 N
 Length of the lever arm, R : 450mm
 Maximum allowable torsional stress, ST : 784800 kPa
 Angle of deflection, θ : 900 (1.5708 radians)

Calculate:
 Diameter of torsion bar, d
 Effective length of the bar, L