Investigation of Suspension Ball Joint Pull Out Force Based on FEA Method and Experimental Study

Abstract

Suspension ball joints are always used to connect the control arms to the knuckle since they are the only joints which allow three degrees of rotational freedom. On the purpose of an sufficient performance of the ball joint, it is very important to prevent the extraction of the ball stud from the ball joint housing. Ball joint’s housing material and shape design must withstand axial loads in the ball stud from axial direction in order to avoid the ball stud pull out keeping the ball stud inside the housing. The ball stud pull out force is a critical and safety characteristic function because it is related to failure mode for front suspension system. These paper investigate how to determine of suspension ball joint pull out force based on FEA method and experimental study. With respect to results of finite element analysis and experimental study, it is possible to monitoring deformation and displacement versus the load. The result of FE analysis and design verifications make it possible to determination of suspension ball joint pull out force.