Axiomatic design of customizable automotive suspension systems

The design of existing suspension systems typically involves a compromise solution for the conflicting requirements of comfort and handling. For instance, cars need a soft suspension for better comfort, whereas a stiff suspension leads to better handling. Cars need high ground clearance on rough terrain, whereas a low center of gravity (CG) height is desired for swift cornering and dynamic stability at high speeds. It is advantageous to have low damping for low force transmission to vehicle frame, whereas high damping is desired for fast decay of oscillations. To eliminate these trade-offs, a novel design for a customizable automotive suspension system with independent control of stiffness, damping and ride-height is proposed in this thesis. This system is capable of providing the desired performance depending on user preference, vehicle speed, road conditions and maneuvering inputs. The design, fabrication and control of the customizable suspension prototype are discussed. The application of variable stiffness and variable ride-height suspension system to achieve improved vehicle dynamics is studied. Application to control of vehicle dynamics parameters required bandwidth and power input beyond the capability of the first prototype.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Deo, Hrishikesh V

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Nam P. Suh.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38698

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38698