High performance system dynamics simulation of the entire system tire-suspension-steering-vehicle

A problem-specific multi-body-system approach, the dynamic suspension models, was developed to obtain an almost complete description of the nonlinear dynamic properties of modern suspensions. The concept includes the spatial elasticities and damping effects of the bushings, forces and moments of inertia of the links, and related friction and clearance effects. In combination with the sophisticated physical tire simulation model BRIT [4] and comparable models for the hydraulics of the power steering system, we obtain an effective simulation tool for the analysis of the entire suspension system dynamics as well as for the entire vehicle system dynamics. This approach enables steady-state vibration phenomena as well as transient response problems of the suspension system such as shimmy, steering roughness, or excitations due to misbalanced wheels to be investigated efficiently and with respect to realistic excitation conditions. The results are compared with driving test data.