The influence of rubber bush compliance on vehicle suspension movement

The work described in this paper forms part of a large study into aspects of suspension and tyre modelling on computer simulations of vehicle handling during the design process. The section of work included here aims to describe the influence of rubber bush compliance on changes in suspension geometry during vertical movement relative to the vehicle body. The emphasis is placed on the use of multibody systems analysis software to predict suspension characteristics and hence provide information for vehicle designers regarding the potential handling behaviour of a new vehicle design. Analysis work has been carried out to illustrate how joints in a vehicle suspension can be modelled and the issues involved where a detailed treatment of the rubber bush material is considered. The paper concludes by outlining the trend towards suspension designs which will increasingly depend on the behaviour of rubber bushes, and the implications for complex computer simulations such as vehicle handling and braking. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.