The Influence of Axle Kinematics on Vehicle Dynamics

The automotive industry employs many different kinds of axle suspension systems at modern passenger cars. Important criteria are costs, space requirements, kinematic properties, and compliance attributes. This paper illustrates that in particular the kinematic properties of a suspension system have a significant influence on the dynamics of vehicles. As a consequence, the kinematics of a suspension system must be modeled very precisely and nonlinear. Typical kinematical features of a suspension system are discussed by analyzing the most common double wishbone axle suspension system. The influence of the axle kinematics on vehicle dynamics is finally demonstrated by simulation results generated with a fully nonlinear and three-dimensional multibody vehicle model.