Title: Optimisation of suspension parameters based on simulation of ride comfort in vehicle development

Authors: Jian-Wei Lu, Fan-ling Zeng

Addresses: School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, 230009 Hefei, Anhui, PR China. ' School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, 230009 Hefei, Anhui, PR China

Abstract: Multi-body dynamic model of a vehicle with leaf spring suspension was established, and road roughness was reconstructed with road surface spectrum. The Root Mean Square (RMS) of acceleration was taken as the evaluation index for optimisation of the ride comfort of the vehicle, and the parameters of the suspension, stiffness and damping coefficient, were optimised. Roadway tests were carried out to verify the presented method, which provided references for the design of suspension with consideration of ride comfort improvement of the vehicle.

Keywords: ride comfort; vehicle suspension; optimisation; multibody dynamics; vehicle vibration; vehicle design; leaf spring suspensions; dynamic modelling; simulation; road roughness; stiffness; damping coefficient.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2008.020879

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2008 Vol.47 No.1/2/3/4, pp.37 - 50

Published online: 22 Oct 2008 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article