Investigation of negative influences on ride comfort performance of In-wheel motor vehicles with high Unsprung Mass

Abstract

The in-wheel motor electric vehicle is directly driven by motors integrated in wheels. This unique design provides actuation flexibility, energy efficiency and performance potentials. Yet the introducing of in-wheel motor caused massive increment of unsprung mass, which shows negative effect on vehicle ride comfort performance. In this paper, a rigid-elastic coupling multi-body dynamic model of a typical in-wheel motor vehicle is built. Based on the model, vehicle ride comfort performance with different unsprung mass including root mean square of weighted body acceleration, wheel dynamic load, suspension deflection is investigated. The amplitude-frequency characteristics of vehicle is analyzed based on quarter vehicle system.