Unit 4: Suspension System
Contents
• Types of suspensions,
• Materials
• Shackles and mountings,
• Types of springs,
• Shock absorbers,
• Sprung weight and un sprung weight,
• Conventional suspension system,
• Independent suspension,
• Air suspension
• Hydra-gas suspension,
• Rubber suspension, interconnected suspension, self leveling suspension
Suspension System: Intro
FUNCTIONS
• suspension should provide good road comfort by minimizing the effect of road
inputs or excitation or. So this property is what is called as road isolation
• Minimize the variations in normal force acting on each wheel there by
improving the road holding characteristics (Road Holding)
• Suspension should ensure that roll and pitch motions of the vehicle are kept at
minimum possible levels thereby improving the stability of the vehicle
(Stability under acceleration, braking and cornering)
Suspension System: Intro
CHALLENGES
Laden/Unladen
Varying road Surface characteristics
• Conflicting Requirement
Straight line motion or
Cornering
• Choice of suspension is also influenced by drive and steering system
• Space and cost constraints
Suspension System: Componenst
• Springs: Energy absorbing system
• Dampers and Shock absorbers: Energy dissipating Elements
• Suspension links and other components to provide support to
suspension system
Components: Leaf Spring
Advantage: Simple in construction and Design
Disadvantage: Effectiveness of the leaves goes down
with time
Components: Torsion Bar
• Consist of a steel rod that is attached to the vehicle body at one end
• Other end is attached to suspension component
• Vertical motion of the wheel assembly results in a twist of the torsion
bar
• Durable , takes less space
• The effective spring stiffness is difficult to adjust
Components: Coil Spring
• Coil spring is nothing but rod/bar
that is wrapped into a coil
• Compact
• They require additional suspension
elements to provide support to the
suspension along the lateral and
longitudinal direction
Components: Pneumatic Spring
Components: Pneumatic Spring
• Currently used in trucks and buses
• Uses the compressibility of air to absorb vibrations
• Consist of compressor, storage reservoir, control valves, control
system and air bag
• Electronically controlled air suspension (ECAS]: modulates the air
pressure to regulate the suspension deflection
• ECAS : Self levelling: Maintains a constant ride height/ground
clearance of the vehicle above the road, even with changes in road
• ECAS : Lowering of vehicle body particularly during high speed
driving
• ECAS: Raising of vehicle during off road operations
Components: Shock Absorbers
• Without a damper structure a car spring will extend and release the
energy it absorbs from a bump at an uncontrolled rate.
• The spring will continue to bounce at its natural frequency until all of
the energy originally put into it is used up.
• A suspension built on springs alone would make for an extremely
bouncy ride and, depending on the terrain, an uncontrollable car.
• Primary function of shock absorbers is to convert kinetic energy into
thermal energy which is then dissipated.
• Oil filled telescopic shock absorbers are typically used.
Components: Shock Absorbers
• Shock absorbers is connected b/w the
vehicle frame/body and the wheel
assembly
• The upper mount is connected to a rod
which has a piston immersed in oil
• Piston moves inside the “pressure
tube” during which oil flows through
small orifices in the piston leading to
energy dissipation
Components: Shock Absorbers
Compression/Bump Cycle
• Two cycles or strokes
Extension/ Rebound Cycle
• Based on of tubes shock absorbers are classified as Mono tube and
Twin Tube
• Twin Tube: inside lower tube there are two annular tubes.
Components: Shock Absorbers
Twin Tube Shock Absorbers
• Two tubes in the lower half , pressure tube and Reserve tube
• Primary function of reserve tube is, it act as reservoir for excess fluid
• There is base valve through which fluid flows between pressure tube
and reserve tube
• Gas Charge twin tube: A low pressure nitrogen gas pocket is present
in the reserve tube, that prevents the fluid from dripping or leaking of
oil from assembly
• Mono tube Shock absorber : Does not have reserve tube
• A floating piston separates hydraulic oil from nitrogen gas
Components: Shock Absorbers
Twin Tube Mono Tube
Sprung Mass and Unsprung mass
• Sprung Mass: Mass supported on the suspension system
Ex : Vehicle body
• Unsprung Mass: the mass between suspension and the road
Ex:Wheel Assembly, Axles, Brakes
• Loosely Sprung Vehicle: Refers to those vehicles that have softer
spring which implies improved ride comfort but there is trade off in
road holding and cornering/ breaking / acceleration characteristics
• Tightly sprung vehicles: Have stiffer spring , have better road
holding and cornering charactersticks but there is trade-off in ride
comfort
Classification Suspension system
Based on performance
• Passive Suspension system
• Has Spring and shock absorber with fixed stiffness and damping
charactersticks
• Represents a compromise between road holding and other functions
• Semi active
• Uses a variable damping element such as twin tube viscous damper, in which
the damping characteristics can be changed by varying area of orifice in the
piston
• Active Suspension
• Uses an electronically controlled actuator to provide improved performance
• Higher cost and complexity, actuator bandwidth
Classification Suspension system
Classification on the basis of connection between left
and right wheel
Dependent suspension
• A rigid link connects the left and right
wheel
• The motion of the wheel assemblies
and the tyres are dependent on each
other
• Issues related to handling, increases the
unsprung mass
• Impact suspension performance
including ride comfort
Classification Suspension system
Independent Suspension System
• The wheels can move independently
• Suspension elements such as control arms, wish bones, trailing
arms etc. these elements link the vehicle frame and suspension
system.
• Low unsprung mass, smaller space
• Disturbance on one wheel is not transmitted to the other side
Types of Independent Suspension system
MacPherson strut
• Combines a shock absorber and a coil spring into a single unit.
• Provides a more compact and lighter suspension system used for front-
wheel drive vehicles.
• Has a struct assembly and lower control arm
• Strut assembly contains the spring and shock absorber
• Compact, suitable for compact cars, front wheet steered cars
• Since strut is used as upper suspension link, more clearance available
for drive shaft in front wheel drive vehicles
MacPherson strut
Types of Independent Suspension system
Double Wishbone (A-arm) Suspension
• Has the two wish bones (A-arms) as the lower and upper suspension
arm links
• Better ride and handling characteristics
• Each wish bone is connected to the wheel assembly and the vehicle
frame at its two ends
Short Long arm suspension (SLA)
• The upper arm is shorter in length than the lower arm, hence as the
wheel hits a bump a negative camber is gained, since the upper arm
swings on an arcs of smaller radius
• Side to side scrubbing of tyre will occur
Types of Independent Suspension system
Double Wishbone (A-arm) Suspension
Types of Dependent Suspension system
Solid Axle Leaf spring Suspension
• The Leaf spring are clamped to the
axle and their ends are attached to
the vehicle body
• Leaf spring also provides
reasonable support to suspension
along the longitudinal and lateral
direction
• Simple and economical
• Heavy, higher unsprung mass,
issues with the ride quality and
handling
Types of Dependent Suspension system
Solid axle Coil spring Suspension
• Coil spring replace the leaf
springs
• Control arms used to provide
structural support along the
longitudinal and lateral
directios
• These control arms connects
solid axle to vehicle body
Types of Dependent Suspension system
Beam Axle Suspension
• Commonly used on the rear wheel
of front wheel driven cars
• The vehicle body is connected to
beam through spring s and shock
absorber
• Trailing arms are used to connect
the wheels to the vehicle body to
provide support along the
longitudinal and lateral directions
Anti Roll Bar
• Typically used with independent
suspension since the independent
motion of the left and right wheel can
result in roll while cornering and
travelling over irregular surfaces
• Minimizes the roll motion under these
circumstances
• It is connected to suspension units on
both sides and twists when one
suspension is displaced relative to other
Panhard Rod
• Prevents/reduces side to
side/lateral movement of
the (dependent) rear axle
while cornering and on
irregular roads
• One end of the panhard
rod is attached to the axle
and other end attached to
the vehicle body at the
laterally opposite side.
