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中北大学2015届毕业设计说明书第1页共14页TherincipleOfCarSuspensionsByWilliamHarrisUniversityofMichiganWhenpeoplethinkofautomobileperformance,theynormallythinkofhorsepower,torqueandzero-to-60acceleration.Butallofthepowergeneratedbyapistonengineisuselessifthedrivercan'tcontrolthecar.That'swhyautomobileengineersturnedtheirattentiontothesuspensionsystemalmostassoonastheyhadmasteredthefour-strokeinternalcombustionengine.Thejobofacarsuspensionistomaximizethefrictionbetweenthetiresandtheroadsurface,toprovidesteeringstabilitywithgoodhandlingandtoensurethecomfortofthepassengers.Inthisarticle,we'llexplorehowcarsuspensionswork,howthey'veevolvedovertheyearsandwherethedesignofsuspensionsisheadedinthefuture.1.VehicleDynamicsIfaroadwereperfectlyflat,withnoirregularities,suspensionswouldn'tbenecessary.Butroadsarefarfromflat.Evenfreshlypavedhighwayshavesubtleimperfectionsthatcaninteractwiththewheelsofacar.It'stheseimperfectionsthatapplyforcestothewheels.AccordingtoNewton'slawsofmotion,allforceshavebothmagnitudeanddirection.Abumpintheroadcausesthewheeltomoveupanddownperpendiculartotheroadsurface.Themagnitude,ofcourse,dependsonwhetherthewheelisstrikingagiantbumporatinyspeck.Eitherway,thecarwheelexperiencesaverticalaccelerationasitpassesoveranimperfection.Withoutaninterveningstructure,allofwheel'sverticalenergyistransferredtotheframe,whichmovesinthesamedirection.Insuchasituation,thewheelscanlosecontactwiththeroadcompletely.Then,underthedownwardforceofgravity,thewheelscanslambackintotheroadsurface.Whatyouneedisasystemthatwillabsorbtheenergyoftheverticallyacceleratedwheel,allowingtheframeandbodytorideundisturbedwhilethewheelsfollowbumpsintheroad.Thestudyoftheforcesatworkonamovingcariscalledvehicledynamics,andyouneedtounderstandsomeoftheseconceptsinordertoappreciatewhyasuspensionis中北大学2015届毕业设计说明书第2页共14页necessaryinthefirstplace.Mostautomobileengineersconsiderthedynamicsofamovingcarfromtwoperspectives:1)Ride-acar'sabilitytosmoothoutabumpyroad2)Handling-acar'sabilitytosafelyaccelerate,brakeandcornerThesetwocharacteristicscanbefurtherdescribedinthreeimportantprinciples-roadisolation,roadholdingandcornering.Thetablebelowdescribestheseprinciplesandhowengineersattempttosolvethechallengesuniquetoeach.Acar'ssuspension,withitsvariouscomponents,providesallofthesolutionsdescribed.2.TheChassisSystemThesuspensionofacarisactuallypartofthechassis,whichcomprisesalloftheimportantsystemslocatedbeneaththecar'sbody.Thesesystemsinclude:1)Theframe-structural,load-carryingcomponentthatsupportsthecar'sengineandbody,whichareinturnsupportedbythesuspension2)Thesuspensionsystem-setupthatsupportsweight,absorbsanddampensshockandhelpsmaintaintirecontact3)Thesteeringsystem-mechanismthatenablesthedrivertoguideanddirectthevehicle4)Thetiresandwheels-componentsthatmakevehiclemotionpossiblebywayofgripand/orfrictionwiththeroadSothesuspensionisjustoneofthemajorsystemsinanyvehicle.Withthisbig-pictureoverviewinmind,it'stimetolookatthethreefundamentalcomponentsofanysuspension:springs,dampersandanti-swaybars.中北大学2015届毕业设计说明书第3页共14页figure2-1Chassis3.SpringsToday'sspringingsystemsarebasedononeoffourbasicdesigns:1）Coilsprings-Thisisthemostcommontypeofspringandis,inessence,aheavy-dutytorsionbarcoiledaroundanaxis.Coilspringscompressandexpandtoabsorbthemotionofthewheels.2）Leafsprings-Thistypeofspringconsistsofseverallayersofmetal(calledleaves)boundtogethertoactasasingleunit.Leafspringswerefirstusedonhorse-drawncarriagesandwerefoundonmostAmericanautomobilesuntil1985.Theyarestillusedtodayonmosttrucksandheavy-dutyvehicles.3）Torsionbars-Torsionbarsusethetwistingpropertiesofasteelbartoprovidecoil-spring-likeperformance.Thisishowtheywork:Oneendofabarisanchoredtothevehicleframe.Theotherendisattachedtoawishbone,whichactslikealeverthatmovesperpendiculartothetorsionbar.Whenthewheelhitsabump,verticalmotionistransferredtothewishboneandthen,throughtheleveringaction,tothetorsionbar.Thetorsionbarthentwistsalongitsaxistoprovidethespringforce.Europeancarmakersusedthissystemextensively,asdidPackardandChryslerintheUnitedStates,throughthe1950sand1960s.中北大学2015届毕业设计说明书第4页共14页4）Airsprings-Airsprings,whichconsistofacylindricalchamberofairpositionedbetweenthewheelandthecar'sbody,usethecompressivequalitiesofairtoabsorbwheelvibrations.Theconceptisactuallymorethanacenturyoldandcouldbefoundonhorse-drawnbuggies.Airspringsfromthiseraweremadefromair-filled,leatherdiaphragms,muchlikeabellows;theywerereplacedwithmolded-rubberairspringsinthe1930s.Basedonwherespringsarelocatedonacar--i.e.,betweenthewheelsandtheframe--engineersoftenfinditconvenienttotalkaboutthesprungmassandtheunsprungmass.4.SprungandUnsprungMassThesprungmassisthemassofthevehiclesupportedonthesprings,whiletheunsprungmassislooselydefinedasthemassbetweentheroadandthesuspensionsprings.Thestiffnessofthespringsaffectshowthesprungmassrespondswhilethecarisbeingdriven.Looselysprungcars,suchasluxurycars(thinkLincolnTownCar),canswallowbumpsandprovideasuper-smoothride;however,suchacarispronetodiveandsquatduringbrakingandaccelerationandtendstoexperiencebodyswayorrollduringco