Influence of Suspension Properties on Vehicle Roll Stability

Vehicle roll dynamics is strongly influenced by suspension properties such as roll center height, roll steer and roll camber. In this paper, the effects of suspension properties on vehicle roll response has been investigated using a multi-body vehicle dynamics program.

A full vehicle model equipped with front MacPherson and rear multilink suspensions has been used for the study. Roll dynamics of the vehicle were evaluated by performing fixed timing fishhook maneuver in the simulation. Variations of vehicle roll response due to changes in the suspension properties were assessed by quantitatively analyzing the vehicle response through simulation.

Critical suspension design parameters for vehicle roll dynamics were identified and adjusted to improve roll stability of the vehicle model with passive suspension. Design of Experiments has been used for identifying critical hardpoints affecting the suspension parameters and optimization techniques were employed for parameter optimization. This approach provides a viable alternative to costlier active control systems for economy class vehicles.