Ride Quality Evaluation and Performance Study of a Vehicle with Planar Suspension Systems

The longitudinal connection between the chassis and wheels in a conventional vehicle suspension system is commonly very stiff compared to the vertical connection. Such a mechanism can efficiently isolate the vibration and absorb the shock in vertical direction but cannot sufficiently attenuate the impact in the longitudinal direction caused by road obstacles. In order to overcome such a limitation, a planar suspension system is proposed, in which there is a longitudinal suspension as well so that the vibrations in any direction within the wheel plane can be isolated. In this paper, the ride quality of a vehicle with the planar suspension system will be evaluated in accordance with ISO 2631 and compared to a vehicle with conventional suspension systems. The acceleration-braking performance of a vehicle with this new suspension will also be investigated and compared with a conventional vehicle to exhibit the promising potentials of this conceptual design.