Suspension Design Report

Objective
The objective of the suspension is to improve the stability and comfort of the vehicle through a variety of terrain and help wheels to put traction to the ground. A good suspension system must neutralise vibrations coming through the uneven terrain and should provide a comfortable ride for the driver. The main focus of the Team Sakshams ATV suspension was to create an overall good performing suspension system that could perform in all terrains equally.

Overall suspension
The static ride of the vehicle is designed to be 10 inches high. Once a driver is positioned in the vehicle for operation, the suspension will sit at an optimal 8.5 inch ride height. This height is chosen for a combination of desirable ground clearance while maintaining a low center of gravity. This combination is necessary to keep this off-road vehicle versatile in all terrain. The ground clearance gives the vehicle the ability to overcome high rocks, hills, and bumps. The lower center of gravity will give it an ability to handle better in tight maneuvering situations at high rates of speed. The arms are designed to have zero camber gain throughout the motion of the suspension cycle. This is designed by setting the two A-arm planes from the frame joint to the knuckle joint parallel. Minimum camber gain is a feature on the vehicle that allows the most tire surface area to be contacting the ground in any suspension position.

Front suspension
Front A- Arms are designed as long as possible for maximum amount of travel and greater vehicle stability. The lower arm is kept 15 inches long while upper arm is kept 12 inches with the initial camber of 2.0 degrees. Front shocks are mounted 30 degrees from vertical. As the shock angle becomes greater, the less effective the shock is and the softer the ride will be. The lesser the shock angle, the greater the articulation capability, to a certain point, and the stiffer the ride will be. Material of the spring is taken as ASTM A 228 popularly known as Music wire and is used worldwide.

Wire diameter (d) = 0.91 cm Mean coil diameter (D) = 7.62 cm Free length (FL) = 25.4 cm Solid height (SH) = 10.00 cm Active coils (nactive) = 9 Pitch = 2.82 cm

CALCULATIONS

Maximum displacement =15.4 cm

Dispmax = Lfree- LSolid

Spring Constant (K) = 2.36104 N/m K=

Spring Index (C) = 8.37 C=

Wahls correction factor (K) = 1.175

K=

Maximum load possible (Wmax) = 3630 N

Wmax = K (LFree - LSolid)

Maximum shear stress (max) = 988 N/mm2

max =

Wmax

Resonant frequency = 71 Hz

Fres = M=

Rear Suspension
Keeping in mind the weight ratio of 40:60 in our ATV the rear suspension is designed to accommodate a slightly lesser travel than that of the front suspension. Since majority of the weight is concentrated in rear, excessive travel can be dangerous for ATV and could also result in uneven handling issues. To deal with this situation the length of the lower A-Arm is kept 13 inches while upper arm as 11 inches and to gain a little oversteer the rear spring rate is kept lesser as compared to front. A slight over-steer in tight cornering situations, allows easier maneuverability at higher speeds. Many of the same principles were utilized in designing the rear suspension as the front suspension. Major change in front and rear suspension is in the positioning of the shock absorber, the mounting angle of the shock absorber is kept 10 degrees from vertical to dampen more forces. Shocks when mounted nearly straight provide lesser travel as compared to front because majority of the forces act in the vertical direction, and this is why the shock is most effective when it is mounted as close to vertical as possible. Setting the shock vertical is also more beneficial in the rear because it allows the shock to dampen the extra weight in the rear to create a more comfortable ride. With that rear suspension configuration, the same balance of a stiff and soft ride was able to be created to match the front.

Wire diameter (d) = 1.06 cm Mean coil diameter (D) = 7.62 cm Free length (FL) = 25.4 cm Solid height (SL) = 12.7 cm Active coils (nactive) = 10 Pitch = 2.54 cm

Calculations
.Maximum displacement =12.7 cm

Dispmax = Lfree- LSolid

Spring Constant (K) = 4.18104 N/m K=

Spring Index (C) = 7.188 C=

Wahls correction factor (W) = 1.206

W=

Maximum load possible (Wmax) = 5300 N

Wmax = K (LFree - LSolid)

Maximum shear stress (max) = 925 N/mm2

max =

Wmax

Resonant frequency = 78.6 Hz

Fres = M=

Roll Center