Elastokinematics of a rectilinear rear independent suspension

Abstract

The rectilinear rear independent suspension investigated in this paper benefits from its excellent kinematic characteristics. Because of the over-constraints of the rectilinear rear independent suspension as a rigid-flexible coupled multi-body system, its elastokinematics are heavily dependent on the compliance characteristics. This paper proposes an efficient approach to establish its elastokinematic model based on the transfer matrix method. First, the overall system transfer equation of the rectilinear rear independent suspension is established. Then, the statics equation is obtained by introducing external loads and expanding the overall system transfer equation. Different configurations of rubber bushings are discussed with respectg to the natural frequency and the static deflections. Comparisons between numerical simulations and kinematic and compliance tests not only verified the approach but also demonstrated the excellent wheel alignment capacity of the rectilinear rear independent suspension.