Design of Oblique Leaf-Spring Suspension Mechanism for Heavy Vehicles

Abstract

The ride comfort, driving flexibility and stability, and operation safety all directly or indirectly depend on the suspension mechanism. Therefore a suspension system defines, in a certain degree, the vehicle’s performance. Traditional longitudinal spring suspension system occupies a large space which is not beneficial either to enlarging the steering angle or to the layout of vehicle chassis. This paper therefore proposes a suspension mechanism within which there are four identical single leaf-springs assembled in parallel. Thus the suspension forms a statically indeterminate oblique structure which improves the stiffness, strength, and reliability while reducing its total mass. The oblique arrangement of the leaf-springs allows the suspension to occupy smaller space which therefore provides larger steering angle for a vehicle. Experiments with real vehicles proved that this kind of suspension should also improve the dynamic performance as it reduces the suspension mass due to the redundant leaf-springs. Therefore, the oblique leaf-spring suspension mechanism can enhance the ride comfort, handling flexibility and stability, and driving safety of a vehicle.