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Suspension systems
Published in M.J. Nunney, Light and Heavy Vehicle Technology, 2007
In Continental heavy vehicle practice air springs may also be applied to the beam axle front suspension of rigid units, especially when they are used for towing drawbar trailers (Section 30.5). Taking for example the general layout of the Volvo system (Figure 23.52), this incorporates two pairs of side-mounted trailing links, each pair arranged in parallelogram fashion, which not only locate the axle in the longitudinal direction, but also restrain it from winding-up under brake torque reaction. For lateral location of the axle a Panhard rod is connected across from one end of the axle beam to the opposite side member of the chasses frame. In combination, the two pairs of trailing links and the Panhard rod therefore confer physical stability for the bellows type air springs, which are mounted directly above the axle beam and operate at a tank supply pressure of about 1.2MN/m2 (175 lbf/in2). A larger capacity air compressor (Section 28.2) is required when used in conjunction with an air suspension system. An anti-roll bar is attached to the axle beam and the ends of its arms are shackled below the frame side members. Telescopic shock dampers are mounted alongside the frame members and connect with multi-purpose axle brackets, which also serve as anchorage points for the locating links and mounting platforms for the air springs. Pivot points are rubber bushed throughout the suspension system. The steering drag link is arranged to describe a sympathetic arc with the trailing links, thereby minimizing any disturbance of the steering arising from suspension movements of the axle (Section 24.1).
VTT – a virtual test truck for modern simulation tasks
Published in Vehicle System Dynamics, 2021
Georg Rill, Florian Bauer, Mathias Kirchbeck
The kinematics of an axle suspension system can either be described by the four-link or the design kinematics approach (cf. 2.3.1). For the former, the joint positions of the links at the chassis and axle must be provided. If the latter is used, the constraint motions , , , and must be determined. This can be done by an experimental or a virtual KnC test where the axle or its simulation model performs hub and roll motions simultaneously and the constraint motions x, y, β, and γ of the axle are measured or computed, Figure 10. The results represent a front axle that is guided by two lean trailing arms and a Panhard rod.