Kinematic Calculation and Design Optimization of Vehicle's Front Independent Suspension Control Arms

The design of control arms of vehicle's front independent suspension is a complicated and constrained optimization problem with multi-objective functions and multi-variables.

By use of linear transformation theory, a general calculating method and the relevant computer programme for kinematics within the range of displacement of all kinds of independent and dependent suspensions are worked out first, which can also be used to calculate the values of objective functions in the process of optimization.

Based on the analysis of orthogonal experimental designs (factorial experiments), a sort of three steps design optimization of control arms of wishbone type front independent suspension and the relevant computer programme are then presented, which can also be used for the design of other types of independent suspensions.