Car suspension systems
How do car suspensions work? Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames.
When people think of car performance, words like zero horsepower, torque and acceleration from zero to one hundred usually come to mind. But if the driver can not control the car, all the power generated by the engine is useless. For this reason, automotive engineers have turned their attention to the suspension almost as soon as they acquired the technology of four-stroke internal combustion engines.
The car’s suspension boils down to maximizing friction between the tires and the road surface to provide stable steering, good steering and ensure that occupants are comfortable. In this article, we explore how the suspension works, how it has evolved over the years, and where the design of the suspension will go in the future.
If the roads were perfectly smooth and without any tampering, we would not need a suspension. But the roads are far from smooth. Even newly paved roads have minor imperfections that can affect car wheels. These imperfections apply force to the wheels, and according to Newton’s laws of motion, all forces have direction and magnitude. A bump causes the wheel to rise and fall vertically on the road surface. Of course, the force depends on the size of the bump. At the same time, the car’s wheel also gains a vertical acceleration when it crosses the surface.
Without an interfering system, all the vertical energy of the wheel is transferred to the chassis moving in the same direction. In such a situation, it is possible for the wheels to come off the road completely and then, under gravity, to hit the road surface again. What you need is a system that absorbs the energy of the wheel (which has vertical acceleration) as it passes through the bump, allowing the chassis and body to move easily.
The study of forces in a moving vehicle is called vehicle dynamics, and to better understand the need for a suspension, it is necessary to know some concepts in the first place. Most car engineers look at the dynamics of a moving car from two perspectives:
● Riding – The car’s ability to smoothly cross a bumpy road.
● Steering wheel – vehicle safety in acceleration, braking and in turns and turns.
These two characteristics can be explained in more depth in three important areas – road insulation, road maintenance and bolts. The following table describes these components and how engineers try to solve these problems, individually and depending on their type:
the part
Definition
Target
solution
Road insulation
The car’s ability to absorb or isolate road shocks from the occupant.
Allow the car body to move easily on bad roads.
Release the energy from the bumps and release it, without causing additional shock to the car.
Road maintenance
The degree to which the vehicle adjusts its contact with the road surface during various changes of direction in a straight line. Example: When the driver brakes, the weight of the car is transferred from the rear tires to the front tires. This type of movement is called “dive” because the tip of the car is close to the road surface. Occurs during acceleration, and the weight of the car is driven from the front tires to the rear.
Keep the tires in contact with the ground, as it is the friction between the tires and the road that affects the car’s ability to steer, brake and accelerate.
Minimize the car’s weight transfer from side to side and from front to rear, which reduces tire adhesion to the road.
screw
The ability of a car to travel on a winding road.
Minimize vehicle rotation, which is caused by centrifugal force entering the vehicle center of gravity while turning, and then raising one side and lowering the other.
Carrying the weight of the car when turning from the top of the car to the bottom.
A car’s suspension, with all its various components, provides the basis for all of these solutions. Let’s take a look at parts of a standard suspension. We start with the chassis and go down in order, focusing on the specific components that make up the suspension.
Chassis:
A car’s suspension is actually part of the chassis, which includes all the important systems under the body.
These systems include the following sections:
اسی Chassis (frame) – The structural and load-bearing component that carries the car’s motorized body, thus being supported by the suspension.
Suspension – A weight-bearing body that absorbs and reduces shock and pressure and controls tire contact.
Steering system – a mechanism that enables the driver to steer and steer the vehicle.
Wheels and Tires – Components that allow the car to move by engaging (friction) with the road surface.
