Automobile Suspension Design Matt Brower Noah Hopson Nick O'Brien Brad Peirson

EGR 350 Engineering Vibrations Instructor: Dr. Mohammadzadeh

School of Engineering Padnos College of Engineering and Computing Grand Valley State University

August 3rd, 2007

1.0

Purpose The purpose of this report is to determine the system response of an automobile's suspension system to a known road oscillation and to optimize the system to reduce the pitch motion of the automobile.

2.0

Background For the purposes of vibrations analysis it is necessary to create a model of the automobile. The mass-spring-damper model is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Mass-Spring-Damper Model of the Automobile Suspension

The values of the variables provided in the statement of the design problem and shown in Figure 2 are listed in Table 1.

Variable m J c1 c2 k1 k2 l1 l2

Table 1: Mass-Spring-Damper Model Variables Description Mass of the automobile The mass moment of inertia of the automobile about the center of mass Damping coefficient of the dashpot on the front of the model Damping coefficient for the dashpot on the rear of the model Spring coefficient for the spring at the front of the model Spring coefficient for the spring at the rear of the model Distance from the center of mass to the front spring/damper Distance from the center of mass to the rear spring/damper

Value 2000kg 2500kg m2 3000 s/m 3000 s/m 3000 /m 3000 /m 1m 1.5m

The optimum method for analyzing a dynamic system with multiple degrees of freedom is to use Lagrange's equations. The primary equation used in this method is:

is

Where L is the Lagrangian of the system, q is the generalized coordinate for the system, and R the Rayleigh dissipation function. In the case of the system given in Figure 2 there are two degrees of freedom, a bounce motion x(t) and a pitch motion (t). The goal of this analysis is to use MatLab and Simulink to determine the response of the system based on the equations of motion and then to optimize the suspension system to minimize the pitch component of the motion. The MatLab programs and Simulink models used in the analysis are provided in the appendices.

3.0

Results Using Lagrange's equations the equations of motion for the system were determined. In matrix form the equations of motion are

The full derivation of this equation is given in Appendix A. The natural frequencies and mode shapes of the system were found using MatLab and verified in Simulink. The MatLab results are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: MatLab Results for Natural Frequencies and Mode Shapes

Figure 1 shows that the natural frequency for mode 1 is 1 = 5.1403 rad/s and that the natural frequency for mode 2 is 2 = 6.5252 rad/s. The resulting mode shapes are

Figures 3 and 4 show the results of the Simulink simulations for modes 1 and 2 respectively. The Simulink simulations verify the MatLab results for both the natural frequencies and the mode shapes.

Figure 3: Simulink Simulation Results for Mode 1

Figure 4: Simulink Results for Mode 2

Once the natural frequencies and the mode shapes were found the MatLab and Simulink models were modified for given initial conditions. The initial conditions for the final analysis of the system response were x(0) = 14mm and (0) = 0.05 radians. The undamped system response for these conditions is shown in Figure 5. The corresponding Simulink system response is given in Figure 6. The Simulink power spectral density output is shown in Figure 7.

Figure 5: MatLab System Response for Given Initial Conditions (Undamped)

Figure 6: Simulink System Response for Given Initial Conditions (Undamped)

Figure 7: Simulink Power Spectral Density Output for Given Initial Conditions (Undamped)

The effect of damping was then added into both the MatLab program and the Simulink model. The resulting plots are shown in Figures 8 through 10.

Figure 8: MatLab System Response for Given Initial Conditions (Damped)

Figure 9: Simulink System Response for Given Initial Conditions (Damped)

Figure 10: Simulink Power Spectral Density Output for Given Initial Conditions (Damped) Figure 11 shows the frequency response of the system in an undamped condition as a function

of

excitation frequency. The green lines represent the pitch motion and the blue lines represent the bounce motion. The vertical lines correspond to the natural frequencies of the system. This plot suggests that the automobile would experience violent motion while operating near the natural frequencies.

Figure 11: Frequency Response Plot for Bounce and Pitch Motions

The frequency response functions for the system are

Another MatLab program was written to perform modal analysis on the system to determine the response of the system to excitation from the road. The road was defined as having an amplitude of 10mm with a wavelength of 5m. For the purposes of this analysis the car was defined as traveling at 50km/hr. The distance between the front and rear wheel of the car is 2.5m or half of the road's wavelength. This means that the excitation from the road acting on the rear wheels will be 90 out of phase with that acting on the front wheels. The resulting equations for the excitation of the road are

The MatLab results for the modal analysis plot is given in Figure 12.

Figure 12: MatLab Results for Modal Analysis

Figure 13 shows the response of the system due to the excitation by the road.

Figure 13: System Response to Harmonic Excitation from the Road The pitch motion of the automobile is the most upsetting for the passenger, therefore the goal is to minimize this motion by optimizing the suspension system. In order to achieve this, the damping coefficient was decreased from 3000Ns/m to 400Ns/m. The result of this modification was a nearly 50% reduction in the magnitude of the pitch motion. At first this also reduces the bounce motion, but the bounce quickly gains some irregular displacements over the original system. Also, with the reduced damping the system oscillated at the natural frequency for mode 1; the original system oscillated primarily at the forcing frequency.

4.0

Conclusions In designing a suspension system for an automobile both the pitch and bounce motions caused by the road must be considered. In this analysis both MatLab and Simulink were used to determine the response of an automobile to given initial conditions as well as to a known harmonic excitation from the road. The natural frequencies of the system are 5.1403rad/s and 6.5252rad/s with mode shapes of

and

respectively. Once the responses were found modifications were made to the original suspension system to attempt to reduce the pitch motion. By reducing the damping coefficient the magnitude of the pitch response was reduced by approximately 50%.

Appendix A Equation Derivation

Appnedix B MatLab Program for Calculation of atural Frequencies and Mode Shapes

Appendix C Simulink Model for Determination of atural Frequencies and Mode Shapes

Appendix D MatLab and Simulink Models for Calculation of System Response to Initial Conditions

Appendix E MatLab Program for Frequency Reponse

Appendix F MatLab Program for Modal Analysis of Suspension System