The virtual tuning of an automatic shock absorber

Abstract

In automotive shock absorber development, tuning is a very important way to obtain the appropriate performance. Based on numerical simulation method and the MSC.ADAMS software package, a virtual tuning method has been developed for tuning the shock absorber inner valve set parameters to meet the damping force requirement. The first step is to build a detailed model of an automotive shock absorber using MSC.ADAMS/Hydraulics, while the model has been validated using test data and the accuracy is above 90 per cent. Then the validated model can be used for virtual tuning, in which the parameters can be changed and optimized so as to meet the design requirement and to obtain better performance. The shock absorber model can also be integrated into a full vehicle dynamics model, for some full vehicle level tuning. Based on the virtual tuning result, a physical tuning process is performed, which can be more effective and efficient.