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Understanding Car Suspension Systems

This document is a presentation about vehicle suspensions given by Rajat Joshi, a first year B.Tech Mechanical student at the College of Engineering Roorkee. The presentation covers an introduction to suspensions, how they work using springs and shock absorbers to absorb energy from bumps in the road, different types of front and rear suspensions, the mathematics behind spring rates, how suspensions can be modified for different purposes, and concludes by stating suspensions provide a smooth ride and help in other ways.

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Rajat
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19 views10 pages

Understanding Car Suspension Systems

This document is a presentation about vehicle suspensions given by Rajat Joshi, a first year B.Tech Mechanical student at the College of Engineering Roorkee. The presentation covers an introduction to suspensions, how they work using springs and shock absorbers to absorb energy from bumps in the road, different types of front and rear suspensions, the mathematics behind spring rates, how suspensions can be modified for different purposes, and concludes by stating suspensions provide a smooth ride and help in other ways.

Uploaded by

Rajat
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

PRESENTED BY :-

RAJAT JOSHI
[Link] (MECHANICAL)
1st YEAR

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING ROORKEE

SAEINDIA@COER

INTRODUCTION

WORKING

TYPES

MATHEMATICS INVOLVED

SCOPE OF WORK

WHAT IF SUSPENSIONS
WOULD NOT EXIST?
CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION
All of the power generated by a piston engine is useless
if the driver can't control the car. That's why automobile
engineers turned their attention to the suspension
system almost as soon as they had mastered the fourstroke internal combustion engine.
The job of a car suspension is to maximize the friction
between the tires and the road surface, to provide
steering stability with good handling and to ensure the
comfort of the passengers. It is of prime importance as it
minimizes the shaking of cars body further minimizing
its damage.

WORKING
According to Newton's laws of motion, all forces have
both magnitude and direction. A bump in the road
causes the wheel to move up and down perpendicular to
the road surface. The magnitude, of course, depends on
whether the wheel is striking a giant bump or a tiny
speck. Either way, the car wheel experiences a vertical
acceleration as it passes over an imperfection.
Without an intervening structure, all of wheel's vertical
energy is transferred to the frame, which moves in the
same direction. In such a situation, the wheels can lose
contact with the road completely. Then, under the
downward force of gravity, the wheels can slam back

into the road surface. So we need suspensions that will


absorb the energy of the vertically accelerated wheel,
allowing the frame and body to ride undisturbed while
the wheels follow bumps in the road.

Working of suspension
components :-

is

controlled

by

its

two

Springs :- The force exerted by vertical acceleration on


the body of the car is minimized by springs. When a
wheel hits a bump it compresses the suspension (i.e.
energy is stored in the suspension) after the bump the
stored energy wants to flow back
Shock absorbers :-These dampen the vertical motion
induced by driving your car along a rough surface and
so should technically be referred to by their proper
name - dampers. If your car only had springs, it would

boat and wallow along the road. When you hit a bump
without shock absorbers the suspension would continue
to go up and down. The shock absorber absorbs the
energy generated by hitting the bump and prevents the
suspension to continue its up and down movement.

TYPES
Suspensions are of two types:Front Suspension these are on the front of the car.

Rear Suspension these are on the back of the cars

MATHEMATICS INVOLVED
Spring rate :The spring rate (or suspension rate) is a component in
setting the vehicle's ride height or its location in the
suspension stroke.
Mathematics of the spring rate :Spring rate is a ratio used to measure how resistant a
spring is to being compressed or expanded during the
spring's deflection. The magnitude of the spring force
increases as deflection increases according to Hooke's
Law. Briefly, this can be stated as:-

F = -kx
where
F is the force the spring exerts
k is the spring rate of the spring.
x is the deflection of the spring from its equilibrium
position (i.e., when no force is applied on the spring)
The spring constant k can be calculated as follows:

where d is the wire diameter, G is the spring's shear


modulus (e.g., about 80 GPa for steel), and N is the
number of wraps and D is the diameter of the coil.

SCOPE OF WORK
There are some buyers who want sporty handling or
want to haul heavy loads and would require a stiffer
suspension. And there are buyers who buy pickup-truck
based SUVs and hate the hard ride. They would be
looking for a softer set up.

SPRINGS:-Let's say someone is going to be pulling a


fifth-wheel trailer.
First, beef up the rear springs. Replace the existing leaf
springs with a set that offers a higher spring rate. This
will create more resistance or "lift" on the back end,
working against the weight of the fifth-wheel trailer. The
new springs, because of their increased strength, will
level off the vehicle and cause it to stand more upright
on the road. In other words, the weight of the vehicle and
the trailer will be more evenly distributed across all four
wheels, making the truck handle and steer better
(remember, as the tail end sinks the front will tend to
rise, causing reduced steering control).
They have any model pickup that "dips" too much in the
back when the fifth-wheel is in its cradle. This may
indicate the need for a stiffer suspension system.
In vehicles with leaf-spring systems, the leaf-spring pack
can be stiffened by adding an extra leaf to the pack. Or
you can soften the ride by removing a leaf or inverting
one of the leaves in the spring pack. This is something
that Indian companies can easily do.
SHOCK ABSORBERS:-Another way to stiffen or soften
the ride quality in your car is to alter the shock
absorbers. In vehicles that have too much body roll, an
easy way to dampen this behavior a little is to install
stiffer shock absorbers. One can get oil-based shock
absorbers filled with higher viscosity oil (thick oil) that

make the ride quite stiff. Or you could get new gas filled
shock absorbers that also provide a slightly stiffer ride.
Similarly, if you want a softer ride quality, you could opt
for shock absorbers that have more travel.

WHAT IF SUSPENSIONS WOULD NOT EXIST?


If the roads were smooth we would not need any form of
suspensions but they are very rough. All the vertical
acceleration caused due to bumps will give rise to force
which will be transferred to the car body causing shocks
and damage to it and restlessness to the passengers.

CONCLUSION
We have come across suspension and its workings.
Suspension not only provides smooth driving but it also
helps in other ways too. Its another marvel of auto
mobile engineering. It has two major component springs
and shock absorbers which helps in its working.
Suspensions are an important part of cars and could still
be modified.

SAE MEMBERSHIP ID OR ENROLLMENT ID:-

ADHOC/COER/19
EMAIL ID:-

rajatjoshiroxy@[Link]
PHONE NO.:-

8266869162

THANK YOU

Common questions

Powered by AI

A hypothetical scenario justifying the absence of suspension could involve perfectly smooth roads where no vertical bumps exist. In such cases, a suspension would be unnecessary as there would be no force or shocks to absorb, reducing vehicle complexity and cost .

A suspension system enhances vehicle control by maximizing the friction between the tires and the road surface, which provides steering stability and good handling. It improves passenger comfort by minimizing the transfer of road imperfections to the vehicle's frame through its springs and shock absorbers .

The main components of a car suspension system are springs and shock absorbers. Springs store energy when a wheel hits a bump, thereby reducing the force on the car's body. Shock absorbers, or dampers, restrict the suspension's motion to prevent continuous bouncing, thereby stabilizing the ride .

The spring rate helps set the vehicle's ride height or its position in the suspension stroke. It is mathematically determined using Hooke's Law: F = -kx, where F is the force exerted by the spring, k is the spring rate, and x is the deflection. The spring constant k can be calculated considering factors like wire diameter, shear modulus, number of wraps, and coil diameter .

Driving without a suspension system on rough roads would transfer all vertical energy from bumps directly to the vehicle's body, causing significant discomfort and potential damage due to continuous shocks. It would result in poor handling and increase the risk of losing control .

A driver might prefer a stiffer suspension for sporty handling or when hauling heavy loads to improve stability and handling. This can be achieved by using higher spring rates or stiffer shock absorbers, such as oil-based shocks with higher viscosity or gas-filled shock absorbers .

Modifying springs and shock absorbers affects ride stiffness and handling. Increasing spring rate and stiffening shock absorbers enhance stability and load handling but reduce comfort. Conversely, lowering spring rate and using softer absorbers improve comfort but might lead to increased body roll .

Future technological advances could introduce adaptive and smart suspension systems that automatically adjust to driving conditions, offering both comfort and performance. Innovations might reduce maintenance needs while enhancing energy efficiency and road safety .

Front suspensions primarily focus on steering handling and control, often designed with more complex systems for this purpose. Rear suspensions primarily support the vehicle's weight and provide stability, often being simpler but more robust .

Proper suspension systems ensure even tire contact with the road, reducing uneven tire wear by distributing vehicle weight and absorbing shocks. Misaligned or faulty components can lead to faster wear due to irregular forces on tire treads .

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