Modeling the Influence of a Road Obstacle on the Dynamic Behavior of an Off-Road Vehicle

A two-degree of freedom dynamic model is developed to study the behavior of an off-road vehicle, like Mini-Baja. The model considers the coupling between the front and rear suspension system. Numerical simulations were developed to study the behavior of the suspension submitted to a disturbance, just as happens when a vehicle in movement comes across a road obstacle like an elevation. The model response is compared with experimental results obtained from accelerometers in a simple test.