Investigation of Vehicle Stability with Consideration of Suspension Performance

Abstract

The issue of movement stability remains highly relevant considering increasing vehicle speeds. The evaluation of vehicle stability parameters and the modeling of specific movement modes is a complex task, as no universal evaluation criteria have been established. The main task in modeling car stability is an integrated assessment of the vehicle’s road interactions and identification of relationships. The main system affecting the vehicle’s road interaction is the suspension of the vehicle. Vehicle suspension is required to provide constant wheel to road surface contact, thus creating the preconditions for stability of vehicle movement. At the same time, it must provide the maximum possible body insulation against the effect of unevennesses on the road surface. Combining the two marginal prerequisites is challenging, and the issue has not been definitively solved to this day. Inaccurate alignment of the suspension and damping characteristics of the vehicle suspension impairs the stability of the vehicle, and passengers feel discomfort due to increased vibrations of the vehicle body. As a result, the driving speed is artificially restricted, the durability of the vehicle body is reduced, and the transported cargo is affected. In the study, analytical computational and experimental research methods were used. Specialized vehicle-road interaction assessment programs were developed for theoretical investigation. The methodology developed for assessing vehicle movement stability may be used for the following purposes: design and improvement of vehicle suspension and other mechanisms that determine vehicle stability; analysis of road spans assigned with characteristic vehicle movement settings; road accident situation analysis; design of road structures and establishment of certain operational restrictions on the road structures. A vehicle suspension test bench that included original structure mechanisms that simulate the effect of the road surface was designed and manufactured to test the results of theoretical calculations describing the work of the vehicle suspension and to study various suspension parameters. Experimental investigations were carried out by examining the vibrations of vehicle suspension elements caused by unevenness on the road surface.