Vehicle Suspension Design Based on a Six-Bar Linkage

Copyright © 2014 by ASME. A synthesis technique for designing novel vehicle suspension linkages based on the Watt I six-bar is presented. The goal is to maintain near vertical alignment of the wheels to the road during cornering. The complete suspension is analyzed as a symmetric planar 12-bar linkage with ground pivots located at the contact patches. The design procedure specifies the vehicle chassis orientation and the tire camber angles of the vehicle when cornering. As well, two task positions of the wheels with respect to the chassis are specified for suspension movement in straightaways. The result is 18 design equations with 18 unknowns that have a total degree of 2,097,152, though only 336 roots. An example design is presented.

[1]  Ramon Sancibrian,et al.  Kinematic design of double-wishbone suspension systems using a multiobjective optimisation approach , 2010 .

[2]  A. H. Soni,et al.  Synthesis of six-link mechanisms for point path generation , 1971 .

[3]  Mohammad Shishesaz,et al.  Roll steer minimization of McPherson-strut suspension system using genetic algorithm method , 2008 .

[4]  Johannes K. Eberharter,et al.  Synthesis of spatial parallel mechanisms with initial conditions using line geometry , 2007 .

[5]  A. Morgan,et al.  Complete Solution of the Nine-Point Path Synthesis Problem for Four-Bar Linkages , 1992 .

[6]  Gim Song Soh,et al.  The synthesis of six-bar linkages as constrained planar 3R chains , 2008 .

[7]  J. Michael McCarthy,et al.  Design of a 5-SS Spatial Steering Linkage , 2012 .

[8]  C. W. McLarnan.  Synthesis of Six-Link Plane Mechanisms by Numerical Analysis , 1963 .

[9]  P. A. Simionescu,et al.  Synthesis and analysis of the five-link rear suspension system used in automobiles , 2002 .

[10]  Nam P. Suh,et al.  Axiomatic Design of Automobile Suspension and Steering Systems: Proposal for a Novel Six-Bar Suspension , 2004 .

[11]  A. Morgan,et al.  A homotopy for solving general polynomial systems that respects m-homogeneous structures , 1987 .

[12]  Shrinivas S. Balli,et al.  Defects in link mechanisms and solution rectification , 2002 .

[13]  Ferdinand Freudenstein,et al.  Kinematic Synthesis of Linkages , 1965 .

[14]  B. Roth,et al.  Six-bar motion I. The Watt mechanism , 1967 .