Optimum design of a passive suspension system of a vehicle subjected to actual random road excitations

Vehicles are subjected to random excitation due to road unevenness and variable velocity. In most research work reported earlier, the response analysis for Mean Square Acceleration Response (MSAR) has been carried out by considering the power spectral density (PSD) of the road excitation as white noise, and the velocity of the vehicle as constant. However, in the present paper the PSD of the actual road excitation has been found to follow an approximately exponentially decreasing curve. Also the change in vehicle velocity has a significant effect on the values of Root Mean Square Acceleration Response (RMSAR). Therefore, in this work, the RMSAR of a vehicle dynamic system subjected to actual random road excitations is obtained so as to account for the effect of the actual PSD of road excitation and the frequent changes in vehicle velocity. The RMSAR of the vehicle is calculated for actual field excitation using the Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) technique to obtain the PSD, by recording observations at the rear wheel. The effect of time lag due to wheelbase on the RMSAR of the vehicle is studied. For this purpose, a new ratio <(alpha)over bar>(tau) has been introduced. The relationship between <(alpha)over bar>(tau) and the autocorrelation has been formulated. This ratio is useful for considering the effect of time lag due to wheelbase on RMSAR. Similarly, the effect of vehicle velocity on the RMSAR is obtained. Further, from a ride comfort point of view, the values of the design variables like spring stiffness and viscous damping coefficient of the front and rear suspensions have been obtained, by minimising the RMSAR using the desired boundary values of the vertical RMSAR as specified in the chart of ISO 2631, 1985(E) [1]. (C) 1999 Academic Press.