Innovative suspension system integrated to the wheel rim for lightweight vehicle

Abstract

Car industry has dynamically developed the electric car segment and is always on the lookout for new solutions that could help a company to become a leader brand on the market. Besides fully autonomous car technologies also new mechanical solutions could give advantage over other companies. Thus many ideas have been made to replace conventional vehicle suspension by the use of a flexible wheel rim. Based on over a year of experience, researches and studies in a field of existing lightweight vehicle suspension systems it was decided to design new solution, which structure eliminates main disadvantages of existing solutions such as energy losses and poor stability. The new suspension solution was designed based on our own knowledge and TRIZ method as a tool of verification. The CAD model of subassembly was subjected to a virtual examination for three different situations: standard ride, hard braking and sudden acceleration. Then a mathematical model of vibration damping properties has been created using MATLAB Simulink software. Additionally, the suspension quality and energy loss analysis have been performed to verify whether the problem was solved. The obtained results have been investigated and compared with commercially used car suspension systems.