Module II

Suspension

Suspension geometry :- The stability and effective handling of a vehicle depends upon the designers’
selection of the optimum steering and suspension geometry which particularly includes the wheel camber,
castor and kingpin inclination. It is essential for the suspension members to maintain these settings
throughout their service life.

Suspension Terminologies:-

❑ Swivel joints or king pins: These are the points about which the steering wheel stub axles pivot.

❑ Pivot centre: The point where the swivel ball joint axis or kingpin axis projects and intersects the
ground.

❑ Contact patch: This is the flattened crown area of a tyre which contacts the ground

❑ Contact centres :This is the tyre contact patch central point which is in contact with the ground

❑ Track : This is the transverse distance between both steering wheel contact centres.

MacPherson strut:-

The MacPherson strut suffers from stickiness in the sliding motion of the strut, particularly under light
load with an extended strut since the cylinder rod bearing and the damper piston will be closer together.
Because the alignment of the strut depends upon these two sliding members, extending and reducing their
distance will increase the side loading under these conditions.

The problem of reducing friction between the inner and outer sliding members is largely overcome in two
ways;

(a) By reducing the friction, particularly with any initial movement, using a condition which is known as
stiction. This is achieved by facing the bearing surfaces with impregnated poly tetra fluro ethylene
(PTFE) which gives the rubbing pairs an exceptionally low coefficient of friction.
(b) By eliminating the bending moment on the strut under normal straight ahead driving although there
will be a bending moment under cornering conditions
Suspension Roll centres:- Roll centre of a suspension system refers to that centre relative to the ground
about which the body will instantaneously rotate. The actual position of the roll centre varies with the
geometry of the suspension and the angle of roll.

Roll axis:- The roll axis is the line joining the roll centres of the front and the rear suspension. Roll centre
height for the front and rear suspension will be quite different; usually the front suspension has a lower roll
centre than that at the rear, causing the roll axis to slope down towards the front of the vehicle. The factors
which determine the inclination of the roll axis will depend mainly on the centre of gravity height and
weight distribution between front and rear axles of the vehicle.

Roll centre height:- IBG the instantaneous centre of the body relative to the ground which is more
commonly known as the body roll centre, IWB the instantaneous centre of the wheel relative to the body
which is the swing arm point of pivot, IWG the instantaneous centre of the wheel relative to the ground
which is the contact centre between the tyre and ground. It therefore forms a pivot permitting the top of the
wheel to tilt laterally inwards or outwards.

If h = Roll centre height, t = Track width, r = Wheel radius, l = Swing arm length

Hence h = tr/ 2l
Short swing arm suspension:- When cornering, an overturning moment is generated which makes the
body roll outwards from the centre of turn. The immediate response is that the inner and outer swing arm
rise and dip respectively at their pivoted ends so that the inner and outer wheels are compelled to tilt on
their instantaneous tyre to ground centres, IWG1 and IWG2 , in the opposite direction to the body roll. For
effective body roll to take place there must be two movements within the suspension geometry. The swing
arm pivot instantaneous centres IWB1 and IWB2 rotate about their instantaneous centres IWG1 and IWG2 in
proportion to the amount of body roll. he swing arm pivot instantaneous centres IWB1 and IWB2 move on a
circular path which has a centre derived by the intersecting projection lines drawn through the tyre to ground
instantaneous centres IWG1 and IWG2 .

Long swing arm suspension:- The long swing arm suspension is very similar to the short swing arm
arrangement , but the arms extend to the opposite side of the body relative to its wheel it supports and
therefore both arms overlap with each other. The roll centre is determined by joining the tyre contact centre
and the swing arm pivot centre by a straight line for each half suspension. The point where these lines meet
is the body roll centre and its distance above or below the ground is known as the roll centre height. Because
the long swing arm suspension has a much longer arm than used on the short swing arm layout.

Transverse double wishbone suspension:- If lines are drawn through the upper and lower wishbone
arms and extended until they meet either inwards or outwards, their intersection point becomes a virtual
instantaneous centre for an imaginary (virtual) triangular swing arm suspension.

Parallel double trailing arm and vertical pillar strut suspensions:- In both examples of parallel double
trailing arm and vertical pillar strut suspensions their construction geometry becomes similar to the parallel
transverse double wishbone layout, due to both vertical stub axle members moving parallel to the body as
they deflect up and down.

For the MacPherson strut suspension the vertical swing arm and pivot centres IWB1 and IWB2 are obtained
for each half suspension by projecting a line perpendicular to the direction of strut slide at the upper pivot.

Basic Parts of suspension system:-

The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper
as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles and is named for
American automotive engineer Earle S. MacPherson, who originally invented and developed the design. A
MacPherson strut uses a wishbone, or a substantial compression link stabilized by a secondary link, which
provides a mounting point for the hub carrier or axle of the wheel. This lower arm system provides both
lateral and longitudinal location of the wheel. The upper part of the hub carrier is rigidly fixed to the bottom
of the outer part of the strut proper; this slides up and down the inner part of it, which extends upwards
directly to a mounting in the body shell of the vehicle. The line from the strut's top mount to the bottom
ball joint on the control arm gives the steering axis inclination. The strut's axis may be angled inwards from
the steering axis at the bottom, to clear the tyre; this makes the bottom follow an arc when steering.

To be really successful, the MacPherson strut required the introduction of unitary construction, because it
needs a substantial vertical space and a strong top mount, which unibodies can provide, while benefiting
them by distributing stresses. The strut will usually carry both the coil spring on which the body is
suspended and the shock absorber, which is usually in the form of a cartridge mounted within the strut .
The strut can also have the steering arm built into the lower outer portion.

Simple in construction,Low manufacturing cost. The design has significant disadvantages in the quality of
ride and the handling of the car. Geometric analysisshows it cannot allow vertical movement of the wheel
without some degree of either camber angle change, sideways movement, or both. It is not generally
considered to give as good handling as a double wishbone or multi-link suspension, Despite these
drawbacks, the MacPherson strut setup is still used on some high performance cars, because they tend to
have relatively small suspension travels, and so do not see the kinematic problems.

Trailing arm suspension:-Trailing arm suspension employs two trailing arms which are pivoted to the car
body at the arm's front edge. The arm is relatively large compare with other suspensions' control arms
because it is in single piece and the upper surface supports the coil spring. It is rigidly fixed to the wheel at
the other end. Trailing arm only allows the wheel to move up and down to deal with bump. Any lateral
movement and camber change (with respect to the car body) is not allowed. When the car rolls into a corner,
the trailing arm rolls for the same degree as the car body, thus changes camber angle (with respect to the
road surface). So both wheels lean towards the outside of the corner, thus lead to understeer.

Semi Trailing Arm suspension: Semi-trailing arm suspension has the trailing arm pivoted at inclined
angles - about 50 to 70 degrees. The semi-trailing arms are half trailing and half transverse. The trailing
component leads to understeer and the transverse component is actually equals to a swing axle suspension.
The swing axle suspension always introduce oversteer due to body roll. As a result, the two components
cancel each other and result in near neutral steering response. Semi-trailing arm or pure trailing arm
suspensions, are rigidly attached to the wheels, inevitably more shock and noise could be transferred to the
car body, especially under hard cornering or running on bumpy roads. The unsprung weight of the trailing
arm leads to poorer ride quality. Therefore most modern sedans replace it with multi-link or double
wishbones suspension

Telescopic suspension:- Almost every motorcycle today uses telescopic forks for the front suspension. The
forks can be most easily understood as simply large hydraulic shock absorbers with internal coil springs.
They allow the front wheel to react to a limitation in the road while separating the rest of the motorcycle
from that motion. The main advantages of the telescopic fork are that

(i) it is simple in design and relatively cheap to manufacture and assemble

(ii) it is lighter than older designs using external components and linkage systems

(iii) it has a clean and simple appearance that bikers find attractive.

Telescopic forks sometimes have gaiters to protect the fork tubes from abrasion and corrosion.

Leaf Spring:- A leaf spring takes the form of a slender arc-shaped length of spring
steel of rectangular cross-section. In the most common configuration, the center of the arc provides location
for the axle, while loops formed at either end provide for attaching to the vehicle chassis.For very heavy
vehicles, a leaf spring can be made from several leaves stacked on top of each other in several layers, often
with progressively shorter leaves. Leaf springs can serve locating and to some extent damping as well as
springing functions. The new Volvo XC90 (from 2016 year model) has a transverse leaf spring made of
high tech composite materials, a solution that is similar to the latest Chevrolet Corvette. This means a
straight leaf spring, that is tightly secured to the chassis, and the ends of the spring bolted to the wheel
suspension, to allow the spring to work independently on each wheel. This means the suspension is smaller,
flatter and lighter than a traditional setup.
Anti roll bar/stabilizer bar:- An anti-roll bar (anti-sway bar, stabilizer bar) helps reduce the body roll of
a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities.It connects opposite (left/right) wheels together
through short lever arms linked by a torsion spring. A sway bar increases the suspension's roll stiffness.
An anti-sway or anti-roll bar is intended to force each side of the vehicle to lower, or rise, to similar heights,
to reduce the sideways tilting (roll) of the vehicle on curves, sharp corners, or large bumps.

Body roll stability analysis:- When a vehicle turns a corner the centrifugal force produced acts outwards
through the centre of gravity of the sprung mass, but it is opposed by the tyre to ground reaction so that the
vehicle will tend to overturn. An overturning moment is therefore generated which tends to transfer weight
from the inner wheels to the outside wheels. At the same time due to the flexibility and softness of the
suspension, the body rolls so that in effect it overhangs and imposes an additional load to the outer wheels.
The opposition to any body roll will be shared out between the front and rear suspension according to their
roll resistance. Thus if the front suspension roll stiffness with an anti-roll bar is twice that of the rear, then
the front wheels will sustain two thirds of the roll couple while the rear ones only carry one third.

Body roll stiffness:-

The body roll stiffness is defined as the roll couple produced per degree of body roll.

Roll couple = Roll stiffness /Roll angle (Nm/deg)

hence S = M/θ (Nm/deg)

where S = roll stiffness (Nm]deg)

M = roll couple (Nm)

θ = angle of roll (deg)

Body roll weight transfer:-The product Fa is the overturning couple rotating about the roll centre which
causes the body to roll. This couple is opposed by a reaction couple Rt where R is the vertical reaction force
due to the weight transfer and t is the wheel track width.

Therefore Rt = Fa

R = Fa / t (N)

This shows that as the distance between the ground and the body roll centre known as the couple arm
becomes smaller, the overturning couple and therefore the body roll will also be reduced in the same
proportion. Thus if the couple arm is reduced to zero the reaction force R will likewise approach zero. A
small couple is desirable so that the driver experiences a sense of body roll as a warning for cornering
stability.

Lateral force distribution: The total lateral resisting forces generated at all tyre to ground interfaces must
equal the centrifugal force acting through the body’s centre of gravity. Thus the fore and aft position of the
centre of gravity determines the weight distribution between the front and rear wheels and therefore the
proportion of cornering force necessary to be generated by their respective tyres. The amount of load and
cornering force carried by either the front or rear tyres is proportional to the distance the centre of gravity
is from the one or the other axle. Normally there is slightly more weight concentrated at the front half of
the vehicle so that greater cornering forces and slip angles are generated at the front wheels compared to
the rear.

Anti roll bar operating principles:- When a pair of road wheels supported on an axle travel over a bumpy
road one or other wheel will lift and fall as they follow the contour of the road surface. If the springs were
relatively hard, that is they have a high spring rate, then the up thrust caused by the bumps would be
transmitted to the body which would then lift on the side being disturbed. Thus the continuous vertical
deflection of either wheel when the vehicle moves forward would tend to make the body sway from side to
side producing a very uncomfortable ride. On the other hand if softer springs were used for the suspension,
the small road surface irregularities would be adequately absorbed by the springs and dampers, but when
cornering there would be insufficient spring stiffness to resist the overturning moment; this would therefore
permit excessive body roll which could not be tolerated. Incorporating an anti-roll bar with relatively soft
suspension springs mostly overcomes the difficulties discussed and therefore greatly improves the vehicle’s
ride. This possible because the soft springs improve the suspension’s response on good straight roadways,
with the benefits of the anti-roll bar automatically increasing the suspension roll stiffness when the vehicle
is cornering.

Anti-roll bar action caused by single wheel:- If one of a pair of axle wheels lifts as it climbs over a bump
in the road, then the vertical deflection of the wheel and spring raises and rotates the anti-roll bar’s cranked
arm on that side so that the transverse span of the bar is twisted. The bar is therefore subjected to a torque
which is proportional to its angle of rotation. This twisting torque is transferred to the opposite cranked arm
which then applies a downward force onto the axle and wheel. However, because the wheel cannot sink
into the ground, the reaction occurs on the rubber bearing mount arm which therefore tends to lift up the
side of the chassis on the opposite side to the vertically deflected wheel. As a result, both sides of the chassis
(body) will have been raised, thereby enabling the vehicle’s body to remain upright instead of tilting to one
side.

Anti-roll bar action caused by the body rolling:- When cornering, the centrifugal force acting through
the centre of gravity of the sprung body produces an overturning moment created by its offset to the body’s
roll centre which will therefore tend to make the body roll.

Anti roll bar action caused by single wheel lift :- If one of a pair of axle wheels lifts as it climbs over a
bump in the road, then the vertical deflection of the wheel and spring raises and rotates the anti-roll bar’s
cranked arm on that side so that the transverse span of the bar is twisted. The bar is therefore subjected to
a torque which is proportional to its angle of rotation.
Rubber spring bumper:-

Bump stop function:- Suspension bump and body roll control depends upon the stiffness of both the
springs and anti-roll bar over the normal operating conditions, but if the suspension deflection approaches
maximum bump or roll the bump stop becomes active and either suddenly or progressively provides
additional resistance to the full deflection of the wheel and axle relative to the bodyThe bump stop
considerably stiffens the resisting spring rate near the limit of its vertical movement to prevent shock impact
and damage to the suspension components. The stop also isolates the sprung and unsprung members of the
suspension under full deflection conditions so that none of the noise or vibrations are transmitted through
to the body structure. In essence the bump stop enables an anti-roll bar to be used which has a slightly lower
spring rate, therefore permitting a more cushioned ride for a moderate degree of body roll. The
characteristics of single, double and triple convolution rubber spring stops, all using a similar rubber
hardness.The initial deflection for a given load is large but towards maximum deflection there is very little
compression for a large increase in load. The relation between load and deflection for bump is not quite the
same on the release rebound so that the two curves form what is known as a hysteresis loop. The area of
this loop is a measure of the energy absorbed and the internal damping within the rubber in one cycle of
compression and expansion of the rubber spring stop. For hollow rubber spring stops they always end in a
point; this means for any load change there will be some spring deflection.

Rear suspension: Live rigid axle suspension:- Suspension geometry characteristics of a live axle are as
follows-

Wheel camber is zero irrespective of the vehicle is stationary or moving round a bend in the road.
 If one wheel moves over a hump or dip in the road then the axle will tilt causing both wheels to
become cambered.

Because both wheels are rigidly joined together the wheel track remains constant under all driving
conditions. Because the axle casing, half shafts and final drive are directly supported by the wheels,
the unsprung weight of a live axle is very high.

With a live rigid axle, which is attached to the body by either leaf or coil springs, the body will tilt
about some imaginary roll centre roughly mid-way between the upper and lower spring anchorage
points.

Horizontal fore and aft or lateral body location is achieved by using the leaf springs themselves as
restraining members or, in the case of coil springs which can only support the vehicle’s vertical
load and therefore cannot cope with driving thrust and side loads, horizontally positioned control
rods.

Non drive rear suspension:- The non-drive (dead) rear axle does not have the drawback of a large
unsprung weight and it has the merit of maintaining both wheels parallel at all times. There is still the
unwanted interconnection between the wheels so that when one wheel is raised off the ground the axle tilts
and both wheels become cambered. The basic function of a rear non-drive rear suspension linkage is to
provide a vertical up and down motion of the axle relative to the body as the springs deflect and at the same
time prevent longitudinal and lateral axle misalignment due to braking thrust, crosswinds or centrifugal side
force.

Swing arm rear wheel drive independent suspension:- This suspension normally takes the form of a pair
of triangular transverse (‘A’ arm) swing arm members hinging on inboard pivot joints situated on either
side of the final drive with their axes parallel to the car’s centre line. Coil springs are mounted vertically on
top of the swing arm members near the outer ends. The wheels are supported on drive hubs mounted on
ball or tapered roller bearings. Any increase in static vehicle weight causes the swing arms to dip so that
the wheels which were initially perpendicular to the road now become negatively cambered, that is, both
wheels lean towards the body at the top. Consequently, when the body rolls during cornering conditions,
the inner and outer wheels relative to the turn become cambered negatively and positively respectively;
they both lean towards the centre of rotation.
Low pivot split axle coil spring wheel drive independent suspension:- To overcome the shortcomings
of the relatively large change in wheel camber and the very high roll centre height, the low pivot split axle
suspension was developed. With this modified swing axle arrangement the axle is split into two, with the
adjacent half-axles hinged on a common pivot axis below the final drive housing. A vertical strut supports
the final drive assembly; at its upper end it is mounted on rubber discs which bear against the rear cross-
member and at its lower end it is anchored to a pin joint situated on the hinged side of the final drive pinion
housing.

Trailing arm rear wheel drive independent suspension:- The independent trailing arm suspension has
both left and right hand arms hinged on an axis at right angles to the vehicle centre line. Each arm, which
is generally semi- triangular shaped, is attached to two widely spaced pivot points mounted on the car’s
rear sub frame. Thus the trailing arms are able to transfer the drive thrust from the wheel and axle to the
body structure, absorb both drive and braking torque reactions and to restrain transverse body movement
when the vehicle is subjected to lateral forces.

Semi-trailing arm rear wheel drive independent suspension:- With the semi-trailing arm suspension
each arm pivots on an axis which is inclined (skewed) to 50 to 70 degrees to the car’s centre line axis . The
pivot axes of these arms are neither transverse nor longitudinally located but they do lie on an axis which
is nearer the trailing arm pivot axis (which is at right angles to the car’s centre line axis). Consequently the
arms are classified as semi-trailing.
Transverse double link arm rear wheel drive independent suspension:- This class of suspension may
take the form of an upper and lower wishbone arm linking the wheel hub carrier to the body structure via
pivot joints provided at either end of the arms. Drive shafts transfer torque from the sprung final drive unit
to the wheel hub through universal joints located at the inner and outer ends of the shafts. Driving and
braking thrust and torque reaction is transferred through the wide set wishbone pivot joints. One form of
transverse double link rear wheel drive independent suspension uses an inverted semi-elliptic spring for its
upper arm.

DeDion axle rear wheel drive suspension:- The DeDion axle is a tube sectioned axle beam with cranked
(bent) ends which are rigidly attached on either side to each wheel hub. This permits the beam to clear the
final drive assembly which does not form part of the axle beam but is mounted independently on the
underside of the body structure. To attain good ride characteristics the usual sliding couplings at the drive
shaft to the wheels are dispensed with in this design since when transmitting drive or braking torque, such
couplings generate considerable frictional resistance which opposes the sliding action. A sliding joint is
provided in the axle tube to permit wheel track variation during suspension movement .
A DeDion axle layout reduces the unsprung suspension weight for a rear wheel drive car, particularly if the
brakes are situated inboard. It keeps both road wheels parallel to each other under all driving conditions
and transfers the driving and braking torque reactions directly to the body structure instead of by the
conventional live axle route by way of the axle casing and semi-elliptic springs or torque rods to the body.

Hydrogen inter connected suspension:- The spring unit is comprised of a nitrogen filled spherical spring
chamber welded to a double conical shaped displacement chamber. A hydraulic damper in the form of a
pair of rubber compression blocks separates both spherical spring and displacer chambers, its function being
to control the flow of fluid as it passes to and fro between the two chambers. The displacer chamber is
sealed at its lower end by a load absorbing nylon reinforced rubber diaphragm which rolls between the
conical piston and the tapered displacer chamber skirt as the suspension deflects up and down when the
wheels pass over any irregularities on the road surface.
Hydro pneumatic automatic height correction suspension:- The front suspension may be either a
MacPherson strut or a transverse double wishbone arm arrangement, whereas the rear suspension is of the
trailing arm type. Front and rear anti-roll bars are incorporated to increase the body roll stiffness and to
actuate both front and rear height correction valves. When the wheel meets a hump in the road, the piston
is pushed inwards so that it displaces fluid from the cylinder into the sphere. Consequently the flexible
rubber diaphragm squeezes the nitrogen gas into a small space. If the wheel hits a pot hole, the pressurized
gas expands and forces fluid from the sphere into the cylinder, thereby making the piston move outward.
By this method of changing the volume of fluid entering the sphere, the gas either is compressed or
expanded relative to the initial charge pressure so that the resilience of the gas prevents the force of the road
shocks from transferring to the body structure.