Abstract:
Transient handling analyses of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) fitted with a roll-resistant hydraulically interconnected suspension is presented in this paper. SUVs have a greater likelihood to rollover due to higher center of gravity, and hydraulically interconnected suspensions (HIS) have been proven as one practical means to effectively improve vehicle anti-roll ability. The modeling of a vehicle fitted with a HIS consists of a 9 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) full-car model and a 34 DOF HIS model, dynamically coupled together through boundary conditions. Steering angle taken from the tests is used as input to the simulations. In field tests, vehicles with different anti-roll systems are put under test by driving through a series of pylons at a constant speed. Acceleration, pressure and displacement transducers are used to measure and evaluate vehicles performance. From tests, HIS shows a superior performance over anti-roll bars in resisting vehicle rolls. The pressure response of the hydraulic suspension closely matches the simulation results, and discussions are provided afterwards.
