Title: Relative kinematic and handling performance analyses of independent axle suspensions for a heavy-duty mining truck

Authors: Yiting Kang; Wenming Zhang; Subhash Rakheja

Addresses: School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, China; CONCAVE Research Centre, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Concordia University, 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W. Montreal, Quebec, H3H 1M8 Canada ' School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, China ' CONCAVE Research Centre, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Concordia University, 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W. Montreal, Quebec, H3H 1M8 Canada

Abstract: A variety of axle suspension linkage configurations with hydro-pneumatic struts are increasingly being used in mining trucks to achieve improved ride comfort and higher operating speeds. In this study, relative kinematic properties of four different independent front axle suspensions are investigated together with their effects on the handling dynamics of a mining truck. These included a composite linkage (CL), a candle (CA), a trailing arm (TA) and a double wishbone (DW) suspension. The kinematic responses are integrated to a handling model of a mining truck to study their relative handling characteristics. The results suggest that the CL and DW suspensions yield relatively higher under-/over-steer gradients and lower peak directional responses respectively during the steady-turn and lane-change manoeuvres compared with the CA and TA suspensions. The CL suspension may be considered desirable for future designs of high-performance trucks owing to its superior anti-roll performance under both steady and transient steering inputs.

Keywords: independent suspension linkage; kinematics; handling performance; steady turn manoeuvres; lane change manoeuvres; heavy-duty mining trucks; heavy vehicles; hydro-pneumatic struts; ride comfort; operating speeds; front axle suspensions; handling dynamics; modelling; anti-roll performance; vehicle design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHVS.2015.070449

International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 2015 Vol.22 No.2, pp.114 - 136

Published online: 06 Jul 2015 *

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