Numerical and Experimental Analysis of Shafts - Applied to a Mini Baja Prototype Suspension

This work presents the comparison of computer predictions with experimental measurements of the rear solid axle suspension (ideal to the off-road vehicles) of a mini baja prototype. The dynamic analysis consisted in finding the first natural frequencies and critical velocities of the shaft. The constants necessary for the numeric and experimental analysis, such as stiffness of the tires, equivalent spring constant of the whole rear suspension and mass of the components were obtained experimentally. Piezoelectric accelerometers were used to measure dynamic response of the system. The numeric analysis was made using the transfer matrix method. By comparing the experimental results with those obtained by the transfer matrix method, the validity of this analytical approach is confirmed.