Title: Influence of shock absorber damping rates on the fatigue of anti-roll bars of a commercial vehicle

Authors: Arthur Larocca; Mina Youssef; Anne Gadbois; Dragos Zamfir; Pablo Kubo

Addresses: Volvo Group Canada, Inc., 1000 Industriel Blvd., Saint-Eustache, QC J7R 5A5, Canada ' Volvo Group Canada, Inc., 1000 Industriel Blvd., Saint-Eustache, QC J7R 5A5, Canada ' University of Sherbrooke, 2500 University Blvd., Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada ' Volvo Group Canada, Inc., 1000 Industriel Blvd., Saint-Eustache, QC J7R 5A5, Canada ' Volvo Trucks Brazil, Rua João Dembinski, 371, casa 40, Curitiba, 81270-330, Brazil

Abstract: Within the framework of an integrated product development, the main objective of this study is to assess the influence of shock absorber damping rates on the fatigue of anti-roll bars of a commercial vehicle. In this regard, force and displacement data have been collected in a durability test track with an instrumented bus on curb weight (CW) and gross axle weight rating (GAWR). Based on the theory of fatigue damage accumulation, the durability of each anti-roll bar of a bus (front and rear suspension) was assessed for three different shock absorber damping rates. Statistical significance between different shock absorbers has been identified for both bars on both loading conditions. The results pointed out that, in some cases, a softer damper could reduce by almost half the fatigue life of an anti-roll bar when compared to the same bar with stiffer dampers.

Keywords: anti-roll bar; stabiliser bar; shock absorber; damper; damping rate; damping coefficient; fatigue; damage; commercial vehicle; concurrent engineering; integrated product development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHVS.2020.104427

International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 2020 Vol.27 No.1/2, pp.180 - 201

Received: 10 Jan 2019
Accepted: 10 May 2019
Published online: 10 Jan 2020 *

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