Development of a Non-Linear Model of a Double Wishbone Suspension for the Characterization of Force Transmission to the Steering Column and Chassis

A non-linear model of a double wishbone suspension is developed to investigate the effects of variation of suspension parameters on the transmission and distribution of tire forces acting on the wheel spindle to the steering system and the vehicle chassis. The suspension is idealized as a four degree-of-freedom model, with suspension members considered as rigid links and the bushings idealized as linear spring-damper elements. Degrees-of-freedom representing the longitudinal compliance of the suspension mounting bushings, steering and the rotation of the control arms are considered. The equations of motion are derived using the Lagrange multiplier method, and solved numerically using MATLAB. A system of relative co-ordinates is used to reduce the number of equations due to the large number of geometric and kinematic constraints for an efficient numerical simulation. The equations retain all the non-linearity’s associated with large changes in the geometric configuration of the suspension system. The analytical model can be used to develop a quantitative measure of the importance of the parameters such as mass, inertia of the control arms, suspension bushing stiffness and damping and spatial geometry of installation to the force distribution and force transmissibility to the vehicle chassis and the steering system. The results of numerical simulation are compared with simulation data obtained from ADAMS.Copyright © 2004 by ASME