Kinematic Analysis of a Heavy Truck with Individual Front Suspension

Paper in proceeding, 2011

This paper presents the suspension kinematic characteristics of a commercial vehicle with Individual Front Suspension (IFS) that are important to the truck dynamics and tire wear. The model used here consists of the front axle assembly, truck chassis, and the steering system. This model is employed to perform a sensitivity analysis to investigate the influence of the steering system parameters, length of the rack and pinion and height of the steering arm connection point to the tie rod, on the kinematics of the vehicle. The results, which are provided in Pareto fronts and Pareto sets not only show the sensitivity of the kinematics on the design parameters but also the contradictory requirements on them.