Title: Investigation of the dynamic behaviour of an automobile wiper system

Authors: Wenjie Qin; Zhe Yu; Qingdong Hou

Addresses: School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China ' School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China ' School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China

Abstract: A rigid-flexible multi-body system dynamic model of a passenger vehicle windscreen wiper system is established in this study to investigate the systems dynamic behaviour. To simulate the impact forces applied by the blades on the windshield and the pressure force distributions along the wiper blades, the blades are modelled as flexible bodies in consideration of their bend and twist deformations. On the basis of the dynamic analysis results, structure improvement measures, including changing the torsional stiffness of the neck of the blade segment and modifying the positions of the pivot points on the blades, are implemented to reduce the reversal impact and improve the wiping uniformity.

Keywords: multi-body dynamics; dynamic analysis; reversal impact; structure improvement; automobile industry; automotive wiper systems; windscreen wipers; dynamic modelling; passenger vehicles; simulation; impact force; pressure force distribution; wiper blades; bend deformation; twist deformation; torsional stiffness; pivot points; wiping uniformity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2016.080022

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2016 Vol.72 No.2, pp.162 - 174

Received: 20 Oct 2015
Accepted: 12 May 2016
Published online: 28 Oct 2016 *

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