Abstract
The vehicle suspension system serve a dual purpose – to provide passenger comfort and good road holding. In the design of a vehicle suspension system, these two contradictory criteria must be balanced out. Road irregularities are also a major source of anxiety amongst drivers and passengers alike. This research was undertaken to investigate the effect road irregularities will have on the vehicle structure especially the suspension system. In this study, the responses of different linear vehicle models are studied for step road input. The mathematical models considered are: a two degrees-of-freedom system (quarter car model) and a four degrees-of-freedom system (half car model). The equations of motion for both models were obtained using Newton’s method. These models are analysed using SIMULINK/Matlab. Different response parameters such as the acceleration of the vehicle body and the travel of the suspension are investigated for a passive suspension system. The responses of the vehicle suspension due to changes in parameters such as suspension stiffness and damping coefficients are investigated. The results show that road irregularities affect the vehicle structures and the response of the suspension system is dependent on the suspension parameters. Passive suspension systems do not satisfy road holding and passenger comfort at the same time.
Highlights
The vehicle Suspension consists of springs, shock absorbers and other linkages that separates the car body from the car wheel
2 MATHEMATICAL MODELING The three common vehicle models found in literature are the quarter car model, the half car model and the full car model
3.2 Simulation and Results The Simulink block diagram for the quarter car and half car models are shown in Figures 8 and 9 respectively
Summary
The vehicle Suspension consists of springs, shock absorbers and other linkages that separates the car body from the car wheel. Passive suspensions: Passive suspension systems usually consist of a non-controlled spring and a damper with fixed parameters (Agharkakli .A 2012). They lack enough energy absorption capability to sustain the load input into the vehicle systems (Gao et al 2016). Semi-active suspensions: Semi active suspensions on the other hand provide a rapid change in rate of springs and damping coefficients They usually have a fixed spring rate and a variable shock absorber. They do not provide any energy into suspension system. They are Superior in performance than passive and semi-active suspension systems
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