TERM PAPER ON Design Of suspension system of a car

Submitted by:
Name-Manish Kumar Sec-M1R02 Roll no-B28 Reg no-10904413 Sub MEC (306)

Submitted to:
Mr. Gurdeep Singh maan (Deptt of Mechanical)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to present my votes of thanks to all those guidepost who really acted as lightening pillars to enlighten our way throughout this project that has led to successful and satisfactory completion of this study. We are really grateful to our HOD for providing us with an opportunity to undertake this project in this university and providing us with all the facilities. We are highly thankful to Mr. Gurdeep singh maan for his active support, valuable time and advice, wholehearted guidance, sincere cooperation and pains-taking involvement during the study and in completing the assignment of preparing the said project within the time stipulated. Lastly, We are thankful to all those, particularly the various friends , who have been instrumental in creating proper, healthy and conductive environment and including new and fresh innovative ideas for us during the project, their help, it would have been extremely difficult for us to prepare the project in a time bound framework.

Manish kumar

Table of Contents 1 Introduction

2

Important properties
2.1 Spring rate 2.2 Shocks Absorbers 2.3 modern coil-over-oil unit 2.4 Roll couple percentage 2.5 Weight transfer

3 Suspension types:
3.1 Front suspension - dependent systems

3.1.1 Springs 3.1.2 Dampers or shock absorbers

3.2 Front suspension - independent systems: 3.3 Conventional suspension system

3.4 Air suspension 3.5Hydrolastic Suspension

4 Suspension geometry
o o o

4.1 Dependent suspensions 4.2 Semi-independent suspension 4.3 Independent suspension

5 References

Introduction
Apart from your car's tyres and seats, the suspension is the prime mechanism that separates your bum (arse for the American) from the road. It also prevents your car from shaking itself to pieces. No matter how smooth you think the road is, it's a bad, bad place to propel over a ton of metal at high speed. So we rely upon suspension. People who travel on underground trains wish that those vehicles relied on suspension too, but they don't and that's why the ride is so harsh. Actually it's harsh because underground trains have no lateral suspension to speak of. So as the rails deviate side-to-side slightly, so does the entire train, and it's passengers. In a car, the rubber in your tyre helps with this little problem, while all the other suspension parts do the rest.

Important properties Spring rate: - These come in three types. They are coil springs, torsion bars and leaf springs.
Coil springs are what most people are familiar with, and are actually coiled torsion bars. Leaf springs are what you would find on most American cars up to about 1985 and almost all heavy duty vehicles. They look like layers of metal connected to the axle. The layers are called leaves, hence leaf-spring. The torsion bar on its own is a bizarre little contraption which gives coiledspring-like performance based on the twisting properties of a steel bar. It's used in the suspension of VW Beetles and Karmann Ghias, air-cooled Porsches, and the rear suspension of Peugeot 205s amongst other cars. Instead of having a coiled spring, the axle is attached to one end of a steel shaft. The other end is slotted into a tube and held there by splines. As the suspension moves, it twists the shaft along it's length, which in turn resist. Now image that same shaft but instead of being straight, it's coiled up. As you press on the top of the coil, you're actually inducing a twisting in the shaft, all the way down the coil. I know it's hard to visualise, but believe me, that's what is happening. There's a whole section further down the page specifically on torsion bars and progressive springs.

Shocks Absorbers:
These dampen the vertical motion induced by driving your car along a rough surface and so should technically be referred to by their 'proper' name dampers. If your car only had springs, it would boat and wallow along the road until you got physically sick and had to get out. It would be a travelling deathtrap. Or at least it would be a travelling deathtrap until the incessant vibration caused it to fall apart. Shock absorbers (dampers) perform two functions. As mentioned above, they absorb any largerthan-average bumps in the road so that the upward velocity of the wheel over the bump isn't transmitted to the car chassis. But secondly, they keep the suspension at as full a travel as possible for the given road conditions - they keep your wheels planted on the road. You want more technical terms? Technically they are velocity-sensitive hydraulic damping devices - in other words, the faster they move, the more resistance there is to that movement. They work in conjunction with the springs. The spring allows movement of the wheel to allow the energy in the road shock to be transformed into kinetic energy of the unstrung mass, whereupon it is dissipated by the damper. The damper does this by forcing gas or oil through a constriction valve (a small hole). Adjustable shock absorbers allow you to change the size of this

constriction, and thus control the rate of damping. The smaller the constriction, the stiffer the suspension. Phew and you thought they just leaked oil didn't you?

A modern coil-over-oil unit:

The image here shows a typical modern coil-over-oil unit. This is an all-in-one system that carries both the spring and the shock absorber. The type illustrated here is more likely to be an aftermarket item - it's unlikely you'd get this level of adjustment on your regular passenger car. The adjustable spring plate can be used to make the springs stiffer and looser, whilst the adjustable damping valve can be used to adjust the rebound damping of the shocks. More sophisticated units have adjustable compression damping as well as a remote reservoir. Whilst you don't typically get this level of engineering on car suspension, most motorbikes do have preload, rebound and spring tension adjustment. See the section later on in this page about the ins and outs of complex suspension units.

Suspension types:
In their infinite wisdom, car manufacturers have set out to baffle us with the sheer number of different types of suspension available for both front and rear axles. The main groupings are dependent and independent suspension types but this naming convention really only applies to traditional or analogue suspension systems. Even independent systems are typically joined across the car by an anti-roll bar and so are not truly independent. From about 2006 onwards, the concept of fully independent suspension systems started to appear on cars where the anti-roll bar was replaced by sophisticated computer software connected to some form of electronically-controlled suspension.

Front suspension - dependent systems:

So-called because the front wheel's suspension systems are physically linked. For everyday use, they are, in a word, shite. I hate to be offensive, but they are. There is only one type of dependent system you need to know about. It is basically a solid bar under the front of the car, kept in place by leaf springs and shock absorbers. It's still common to find these on trucks, but if you find a car with one of these you should sell it to a museum. They haven't been used on mainstream cars for years for three main reasons: Shimmy - because the wheels are physically linked, the beam can be set into oscillation if one wheel hits a bump and the other doesn't. It sets up a gyroscopic torque about the steering axis which starts to turn the axle left-to-right. Because of the axle's inertia, this in turn feeds back to amplify the original motion. Weight - or more specifically unsprung weight. Solid front axles weigh a lot and either need sturdy, heavy leaf springs or heavy suspension linkages to keep their wheels on the road. Alignment - simply put, you can't adjust the alignment of wheels on a rigid axis. From the factory, they're perfectly set, but if the beam gets even slightly distorted, you can't adjust the wheels to compensate

Front suspension - independent systems:

So-named because the front wheel's suspension systems are independent of each other (except where joined by an anti-roll bar) These came into existence around 1930 and have been in use in one form or another pretty much ever since then. Macpherson Strut or McPherson strut

This is currently, without doubt, the most widely used front suspension system in cars of European origin. It is simplicity itself. The system basically comprises of a strut-type spring and shock absorber combo, which pivots on a ball joint on the single, lower arm. At the top end there is a needle roller bearing on some more sophisticated systems. The strut itself is the load-bearing member in this assembly, with the spring and shock absorber merely performing their duty as oppose to actually holding the car up.In the picture here, you can't see the shock absorber because it is encased in the black gaiter inside the spring. The steering gear is either connected directly to the lower shock absorber housing, or to an arm from the front or back of the spindle (in this case). When you steer, it physically twists the strut and shock absorber housing (and consequently the spring) to turn the wheel. Simple. The spring is seated in a special plate at the top of the assembly which allows this twisting to take place. If the spring or this plate are worn, you'll get a loud 'clonk' on full lock as the spring frees up and jumps into place. This is sometimes confused for CV joint knock. Rover 2000 Macpherson derivative

During WWII, the British car maker Rover worked on experimental gas-turbine engines, and after the war, retained a lot of knowledge about them. The gas-turbine Rover T4, which looked a lot like the Rover P6, Rover 2000 and Rover 3500, was one of the prototypes. The chassis was fundamentally the same as the other Rovers and the net result was the the 2000 and 3500 ended up with a very odd front suspension layout. The gas turbine wasn't exactly small, and Rover needed as much room as possible in the engine bay to fit it. The suspension was derived from a normal MacPherson strut but with an added bell crank. This allowed the suspension unit to sit horizontally along the outside of the engine bay rather than protruding into it and taking up space. The bell crank transferred the upward forces from the suspension into rearward forces for the spring / shock combo to deal with. In the end, the gas turbine never made it into production and the Rover 2000 was fitted with a 2-litre 4-cylinder engine, whilst the Rover 3500 was fitted with an 'evergreen' 3.5litre V8. Open the hood of either of these classics and the engine looks a bit lost in there because there's so much room around it that was never utilised. The image on the left shows the Rover-derivative Macpherson strut. Advantages (independent front): Bigger deflection of front wheels, no reaction on steering Greater distance for resisting rolling action Front axle (small-stub), improves road holding tendency of tyres. Disadvantage: Better shock absorber required. Expensive Tyre wear increases due to transmission of torque.

Conventional suspension system

Two wheels are mounted on either side of the rigid axle When one wheel encounters the bump, both the wheel do not execute parallel up and down motion So it gives rise to gyroscopic effect and wheel wobble Rear driving wheels mounted on live axle suspended by laminated leaf springs and shock absorbers

Semi-active and active suspensions:

If the suspension is externally controlled then it is a semi-active or active suspension the suspension is reacting to what are in effect "brain" signals. As electronics have become more sophisticated, the opportunities in this area have expanded. For example, a hydropneumatic Citron will "know" how far off the ground the car is supposed to be and constantly reset to achieve that level, regardless of load. It will not instantly compensate for body roll due to cornering however. Citron's system adds about 1% to the cost of the car versus passive steel springs. Semi-active suspensions include devices such as air springs and switchable shock absorbers, various self-levelling solutions, as well as systems like hydropneumatic, hydrolastic, and hydragas suspensions. Mitsubishideveloped the worlds first production semi-active electronically controlled suspension system in passenger cars; the system was first incorporated in the 1987 Galant model. Delphi currently sells shock absorbers filled with a magnetorheological fluid, whose viscosity can be changed electromagnetically, thereby giving variable control without switching valves, which is faster and thus more effective. Fully active suspension systems use electronic monitoring of vehicle conditions, coupled with the means to impact vehicle suspension and behavior in real time to directly control the motion of the car. Lotus Cars developed several prototypes, from 1982 onwards, and introduced them to F1, where they have been fairly effective, but have now been banned. Nissan introduced a low bandwidth active suspension in circa 1990 as an option that added an extra 20% to the price of luxury models. Citron has also developed several active suspension models (see hydractive). A recently publicised fully active system from Bose Corporation uses linear electric motors (i.e., solenoids) in place of hydraulic or pneumatic actuators that have generally been used up until recently. The most advanced suspension systemis Active Body Control, introduced in 1999 on the top-of-the-line . Several electromagnetic suspensions have also been developed for vehicles. Examples include the electromagnetic suspension of Bose, and the electromagnetic suspension developed by prof.

Laurentiu Encica. In addition, the new Michelin wheel with embedded suspension working on a electromotor is also similar. With the help of control system, various semi-active/active suspensions realize an improved design compromise among different vibrations modes of the vehicle, namely bounce, roll, pitch and warp modes. However, the applications of these advanced suspensions are constrained by the cost, packaging, weight, reliability, and/or the other challenges.

Air suspension:
Air suspension is a type of vehicle suspension powered by an electric or engine driven air pump or compressor. This pump pressurizes the air, using compressed air as a spring. Air suspension is often used in place of conventional steel springs, and in heavy vehicle applications such as buses and trucks. If the engine is left off for an extended period, the vehicle will gradually settle to the ground. The purpose of air suspension is to provide a smooth, constant ride quality and in most cases it is self-leveling.

Advantages of air suspension: These maintain a constant frequency of vibration whether the vehicle is laden or unladen. Constant frame height is maintained. It helps to reduce the load while the vehicle in motion i.e. the dynamic loading as the spring rate variation between laden and unladen weight is much less. It gives smooth and comfort ride of the vehicle.

Common Air Suspension Problems:

Air bag or air strut failure It is usually caused by wet rot, due to old age, or moisture within the air system that damages it from the inside. Air ride suspension parts may fail because rubber dries out. Punctures to the air bag may be caused from debris on the road. With custom applications, improper installation may cause the air bags to rub against the vehicle's frame or other surrounding parts, damaging it. The over-extension of an air spring which is not sufficiently constrained by other suspension components, such as a shock absorber, may also lead to the premature failure of an air spring through the tearing of the flexible layers. Failure of an air spring may also result in complete immobilization of the vehicle, since the vehicle will rub against the ground or be too high to move. Air line failure is a failure of the tubing which connects the air bags or struts to the rest of the air system, and is typically DOT-approved nylon air brake line. This usually occurs when the air lines, which must be routed to the air bags through the chassis of the vehicle, rub against a sharp edge of a chassis member or a moving suspension component, causing a hole to form. This mode of failure will typically take some time to occur after the initial installation of the system, as the integrity of a section of air line is compromised to the point of failure due to the rubbing and resultant abrasion of the material. An air-line failure may also occur if a piece of road debris hits an air line and punctures or tears it. Compressor failure is primarily due to leaking air springs or air struts. The compressor will burn out trying to maintain the correct air pressure in a leaking air system. Compressor burnout may also be caused by moisture from within the air system coming into contact with its electronic parts. Dryer failure the dryer, which functions to remove moisture from the air system, eventually becomes saturated and unable to perform that function. This causes moisture to build up in the system and can result in damaged air springs and/or a burned out compressor

Hydrolastic Suspension:

A system where the front and rear suspension systems were connected together in order to better level the car when driving. The front and rear suspension units have Hydrolastic displacers, one per side. These are interconnected by a small bore pipe. Each displacer incorporates a rubber springDamping of the system is achieved by rubber valves. when the

front wheel encounter bumps ,the piston moves upwards pressurising the fluid to enter into the rear unit.

Description
The system replaces the separate springs and dampers of a conventional suspension system with integrated, space efficient, fluid filled, displacer units, which are interconnected between the front and rear wheels on each side of the vehicle. The official recipe for genuine BMC/MG Rover fluid is as follows: 49% alcohol 49% distilled water 1% triethanolamine phosphate 1% sodium mercaptobenzothiazole Although the official recipe contains triethanolamine phosphate and sodium mercaptobenzothiazole, many home mechanics refill the system without these two ingredients, and uses only alcohol (methylated spirits) and concentrated glycol antifreeze in a 50/50 ratio. Each displacer unit contains a rubber spring, and damping is achieved by the displaced fluid passing through rubber valves. The displaced fluid passes to the displacer of the paired wheel, thus providing a dynamic interaction between front and rear wheels. When a front wheel encounters a bump fluid is transferred to the corresponding rear displacer then lowers the rear wheel, hence lifting the rear, minimising pitch associated with the bump.[2] Naturally the reverse occurs when it is a rear wheel that encounters a bump. This effect is particularly good on small cars as small wheelbase vehicles are more affected by pitching than long wheelbase vehicles.

Wheel rate: - Wheel rate on independent suspension is fairly straightforward. However,

special consideration must be taken with some non-independent suspension designs. Take the case of the straight axle. When viewed from the front or rear, the wheel rate can be measured by the means above. Yet because the wheels are not independent, when viewed from the side under acceleration or braking the pivot point is at infinity (because both wheels have moved) and the spring is directly in line with the wheel contact patch. The result is often that the effective wheel rate under cornering is different from what it is under acceleration and braking. This variation in wheel rate may be minimized by locating the spring as close to the wheel as possible.

Roll couple percentage

Roll couple percentage is the effective wheel rate, in roll, of each axle of the vehicle as a ratio of the vehicle's total roll rate. Roll couple percentage is critical in accurately balancing the handling of a vehicle. It is commonly adjusted through the use of anti-roll bars but can also be changed through the use of different springs.

Weight transfer
Weight transfer during cornering, acceleration or braking is usually calculated per individual wheel and compared with the static weights for the same wheels. The total amount of weight transfer is only affected by four factors: the distance between wheel centers (wheelbase in the case of braking, or track width in the case of cornering) the height of the center of gravity, the mass of the vehicle, and the amount of acceleration experienced. The speed at which weight transfer occurs as well as through which components it transfers is complex and is determined by many factors including but not limited to roll center height, spring and damper rates, anti-roll bar stiffness and the kinematic design of the suspension links.

Jacking forces
Jacking forces are the sum of the vertical force components experienced by the suspension links. The resultant force acts to lift the sprung mass if the roll center is above ground, or compress it if underground. Generally, the higher the roll center, the more jacking force is experienced.

Damping
Damping is the control of motion or oscillation, as seen with the use of hydraulic gates and valves in a vehicles shock absorber. This may also vary, intentionally or unintentionally. Like spring rate, the optimal damping for comfort may be less than for control. Damping controls the travel speed and resistance of the vehicle's suspension. An un damped car will oscillate up and down. With proper damping levels, the car will settle back to a normal state in a minimal amount of time. Most damping in modern vehicles can be controlled by increasing or decreasing the resistance to fluid flow in the shock absorber.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_(vehicle) http://www.carbibles.com/suspension_bible.html http://www.boosttown.com/suspension/suspension_types.php http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&sclient=psyab&q=Hydrolastic+Suspension&btnG= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolastic