A Proposed Test Apparatus for the Evaluation of the Structural Integrity of Elastomer Bushings Used in Vehicle Control Arm Assemblies

Increased responsibility is currently being placed on vehicle component manufacturers to certify products as an integral part of sub-system assemblies. In the guest for quality, the current trend in structural fatigue testing is to evaluate the performance of assemblies using tests which more closely simulate the actual part orientation and loading conditions. This dictates multidimension test systems with real time system performance.

This paper presents a machine that can be used to apply multi-axial loads to bushings normally used in vehicle control arm assemblies. Several unique features of the mechanical aspect of the test system are explained and several different control schemes are presented.