03OAIQW

Dynamic Design of Machines

a.a. 2021-2022
Mechatronic Engineering
Prof. Daniele Botto
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica ed Aerospaziale
daniele.botto@polito.it

Project 1 - Dynamic analysis of an automobile suspension as a lumped parameter system

05/11/2020

The activity is aimed to study the dynamic behavior of a transversal quadrilateral suspension of an Alfa
Romeo using the lamped parameters approach. It is the front suspension of a driving wheel. The transversal
section view is reported in Annex 1.
Figure 1 shows the scheme of the lumped parameters.

Figure 1. Simplified scheme of the suspension. The ratio between the displacement in B and the displacement of the
unsprung mass in C is xB/xns=0.88.

The input signal is expressed as the power spectral density of the road irregularities (xA) according to the
ISO/TC 108/WG9 norm.
𝑆̅(𝜈) = 𝐺! 𝜈 "#

where 𝜈 indicates the spatial frequency of the road profile. The numerical values of the ground condition
index 𝐺! are reported in Table 1.
Table 1. Parameters for road irregularity definition.

Road class Description Ground condition index Gr [m cycle]

A Very good 1.6E-07
B Good 6.4E-07
C Average 2.56E-06
D Poor 1.02E-05
E Very poor 4.1E-05

The input for the system is the velocity ( x! A ) of the wheel – ground contact point A.

Tasks
1. Write the equations of motion in the configuration space and in the state space.
2. Compute the natural frequencies of the equivalent undamped system.
3. Compute and plot the transfer function between the velocity of the wheel ground contact point A and:
• the load at point C
• the vertical acceleration of the suspended mass
• the current flowing in the electric circuit.
Operating condition: maximum damping (electric machine in ideal short circuit à R=Ra), minimum
damping (electric machine in ideal open circuit ->R=Ra+Rb (select a proper Rb, e.g. Rb=1e5Ohm)), and
optimal damping (R=Ra+<Ropt, with 𝑐"#$% $𝑘𝑚& ⁄2)
The frequency range of interest is 0-100 Hz.
4. Compute and plot the time history of the load exerted on the hub at point C,
5. Compute the level of temperature in the electromagnetic damper making reference to the following
$
thermal model: 𝑇 = 𝐾$' 𝑃("&& -1 − 𝑒 ) +* 1. It is the response of a 1st order system: it is suggested to build
the system model in the Laplace domain and implement it in Simulink as a 1st order transfer function. It
should be verified that the temperature level should be below 80 °C when the vehicle travels in highway
condition (120km/h for at least 20km distance).

Data
The values of the system parameters are listed in Table 2.

Table 2. Data of the system.

Parameter Name Value Unit

ms Sprung mass 342 Kg
k Suspension spring stiffness 19430 N/m
kp Tyre radial stiffness 190000 N/m
cp Tyre radial damping 50 Ns/m
h Transmission ratio of the transmission system 207 rad/m
L Electric machine equivalent phase inductance 10,9 mH
Ra Electric machine equivalent phase resistance 3,6 Ohm
Ke Electric machine motor-torque constant 1,242 Nm/A
Kt Electric machine motor-velocity constant 1,242 rpm/V
Jem Moment of inertia of the electric machine and other rotational parts 100 Kg x mm2
a Suspension kinematic property (xB/xns) 0,88 -
V Vehicle velocity 120 Km/h
Kth Electric machine temperature constant 0,02 C/W
t Electric motor time constant 300 s