An integrated Approach to the Development of Suspension Rubber Bushings

The recent improvement in CAE technology of vehicle structure could reduce the new vehicle development time. Moreover, it can help to reduce the test time of prototypes. The finite element analysis (FEA) has been proved for long time by many experiments in developing a new vehicle. However, the FEA has been applied mainly on metal structures such as steel and aluminum. The fatigue analysis could not successfully apply on the rubber insulator or bushing until now. Moreover, the more difficult thing is the identification of the applied loads on rubber bushings in all kinds of control arms.

In this paper, the virtual testing laboratory (VTL) technology and load measuring techniques are integrated for identifying dynamic loads and torsional deformation of suspension bushings in a proving ground (PG). This paper presents the efficient rig-test of suspension bushings as the applied loading patterns. The principal loading types was classified into one axis or two axes rig-test modes as road loads. This rig-test specification was proved by several failure cases of the vehicle durability test.