Suspension Design Case Study

Purpose
Suspension to be used on a small (lightweight) formula style racecar. Car is intended to navigate tight road courses Surface conditions are expected to be relatively smooth

Performance Design Parameters

For this case the main objective is to optimize mechanical grip from the tire. This is achieved by considering as much tire information as possible while designing the suspension Specific vehicle characteristics will be considered.

Considerations
Initially the amount of suspension travel that will be necessary for this application must be considered.
One thing that is often overlooked in a four wheeled vehicle suspension design is droop travel.
Depending on the expected body roll the designer must allow adequate droop travel.

Introduction

Components
Upper A-arm
The upper A-arm serves to carry some of the load generated on the suspension by the tire. This force is considerably less then the load carried by the lower A-arm in a push rod set-up The arm only has to provide a restoring force to the moment generated by the tire on the lower ball joint

Components
Lower A-arm
The lower A-arm serves the same purpose as the upper arm, except that in a pushrod configuration it is responsible for carrying the vertical load In this case study the lower A-arm will carry a larger rod end to compensate for the larger forces seen by this component.

Components
Upright
The upright serves several purposes in the suspension
Connects the upper Aarm, lower A-arm, steering arm, and the tire Carries the spindle and bearing assembly Holds the brake caliper in correct orientation with the rotor Provides a means for camber and castor adjustment

Components
Spindle
Spindle can come in two basic configurations
Live spindle Fixed spindle

In the live spindle configuration the whole spindle assembly rotates and carries the tire and wheel The fixed spindle configuration carries a hub assembly which rotates about the spindle Both configurations carry the brake rotor

Live Vs. Fixed Spindle Advantages and Disadvantages

Live Spindle :
Less parts Lighter weight if designed correctly More wheel offset Bearing concerns Retention inside of the upright assembly

Fixed spindle
Simple construction Hub sub-assembly Spindle put in considerable bending More components, and heavier

Components
Push rod
The push rod carries the load from the lower A-arm to the inboard coil over shock The major concern with this component is the buckling force induced in the tube

Components
Toe rod (steering link)
The toe rod serves as a like between the steering rack inboard on the vehicle The location of the ends of this like are extremely critical to bump steer and Ackermann of the steering system This link is also used to adjust the amount of toeout of the wheels

Components
Bellcrank
This is a common racing description of the lever pivot that translates to motion of the push rod into the coil over shock The geometry of this pivot can be designed to enable the suspension to have a progressive or digressive nature This component also offers the designer the ability to include a motion ratio in the suspension

Components
Coil-over Shock Absorber
This component carries the vehicle corner weight It is composed of a coil spring and the damper This component can be used to adjust ride height, dampening, spring rate, and wheel rate

Components
Anti-Roll bar
This component is an additional spring in the suspension Purpose: resist body roll It accomplishes this by coupling the left and right corners of the vehicle When the vehicle rolls the roll bar forces the vehicle to compress the spring on that specific corner as well as some portion of the opposite corners spring
*Unclear in this picture the Anti-Roll bar tube actually passes inside the chassis This proportion is adjusted by changing the spring rate of the bar itself

Beginning the Design Process

Initially the suspension should be laid out from a 2-D front view Static and dynamic camber should be defined during this step

Camber
The main consideration at this step is the camber change throughout the suspension travel.

Camber
Static Camber
Describes the camber angle with loaded vehicle not in motion

Dynamic Camber
Describes the camber angle of a corner at any instant during a maneuver i.e.: cornering, launching, braking

Contact Patch

Tread area in contact with the road at any instant in time

Camber

Camber is used to offset lateral tire deflection and maximize the tire contact patch area while cornering.

Camber
Negative Camber angles
good for lateral acceleration, cornering bad for longitudinal acceleration, launching/braking
This is because the direction of the tire deflection is obviously not the same for these two situations

Camber
Cornering Situation
Maximum lateral grip is needed during cornering situations.
In a cornering situation the car will be rolled to some degree Meaning the suspension will not be a static position

For this reason static suspension position is much less relevant than the dynamic

Camber
Launch/Braking Situation
Maximum longitudinal grip is needed during launch/brake situations.
In a launch/brake situation the car will be pitched to some degree Suspension will not be in a static position

Compromise
It is apparent that the suspension is likely to be at the same position for some cornering maneuvers as it is during launching/braking maneuvers
For this reason we must compromise between too little and too much negative camber

This can be approximated with tire data and often refined during testing

Defining Camber
Once we set our static camber we must adjust our dynamic camber curves
This is done by adjusting the lengths of the upper and lower A-arms and the position of the inboard and out board pivots

These lengths and locations are often driven by packaging constraints

Instant Center
The instant center is a dynamic point which the wheel will pivot about and any instant during the suspension travel
For a double wishbone configuration this point moves as the suspension travels

CHASSIS Instant Center

Mild Camber Change Design -Suspension arms are close to parallel -Wide instant center locations

Mild Camber Change Design 0.4 of Neg. Camber Gain Per inch of Bump

Aggressive Camber Change Design

-Suspension arms are far from parallel

-Instant center locations are inside the track width

More Aggressive Camber Change Design 1.4 of Neg. Camber Gain Per inch of Bump

Jacking forces
It is important to consider the Instant Center Position, because when it moves vertically off the ground plane Jacking forces are introduced

Jacking forces
Caused during cornering by a moment
Force: lateral traction force of tire Moment arm: Instant Center height Moment pivot: Instant center
CHASSIS Instant Center

I.C. Height Lateral Force Ground

Jacking Forces
Caused by geometrical binding of the upper and lower A-arms These forces are transferred from the tire to the chassis by the A-arms, and reduce the amount of force seen by the spring
Jacking Forces CHASSIS I. C. I.C. Height Lateral Force

Roll Center
The roll center can be identified from this 2-D front view
Found at the intersection lines drawn for the Instant center to the contact patch center point, and the vehicle center line
Vehicle Center

Line

I. C.
Roll Center

Roll Center
For a parallel-Iink Situation the Roll Center is found on the ground plane

Vehicle Center

Roll Center

Line

Significance of the Roll Center

Required Roll stiffness of the suspension is determine by the roll moment. Which is dependant on Roll center height

Sprung Mass C.G.

Roll Center

Roll Moment
Present during lateral acceleration (the cause of body roll)
Moment Arm: B = Sprung mass C.G. height Roll center height
Force: F = (Sprung Mass) x (Lateral Acceleration)
Sprung Mass C.G. B R. C.

Roll Axis
To consider the total vehicle you must look at the roll axis

Sprung Mass C.G.

Rear Roll Center

Front Roll Center

Side View
The next step will be to consider the response of the suspension geometry to pitch situation
For this we will move to a 2-D side-view
Inboard A-arm pivot points

CHASSIS Ground

Front

Rear

Anti-Features
By angling the A-arms from the side jacking forces are created
These forces can be used in the design to provide pitch resistance
Anti-Dive

Anti-Lift

CHASSIS Ground

Front

Rear

Anti-Features
Racecars rely heavily on wings and aerodynamics for performance.
Aerodynamically efficient, high-down force cars are very sensitive to pitch changes. A pitch change can drastically affect the amount of down force being produced.

Much less important for lower speed cars

Pitch Center
The pitch center can be identified from this 2-D side view
Found at the intersection lines drawn for the Instant center to the contact patch center point

Pitch Center

Pitch Center
The pitch center can be identified from this 2-D side view
Found at the intersection lines drawn for the Instant center to the contact patch center point

Pitch Center

Pitch Moment
Present during longitudinal acceleration
Moment Arm: B = Sprung mass C.G. height Roll center height
Force: F = (Sprung Mass) x (Longitudinal Acceleration)
F B
Pitch Center