Development of A Novel Integrated Corner Module for Narrow Urban Vehicles

Most current urban vehicles are scaled-down versions of standard passenger cars. This imposes serious limitations on the safety, comfort, efficiency, dynamic performance and, hence, customer acceptance of the vehicle. This paper provides a unique design of an integrated corner module including an in-wheel suspension, an electrical in-wheel motor, a friction brake, a steering system, and a camber mechanism, which can be used in any urban vehicle design without modification. For the first time, a dual four-bar linkage mechanism has been designed to generate a virtual kingpin axis and provide an active camber. This approach results in a highly compact design for the corner module that can be integrated into narrow vehicles. A full-size prototype of the proposed integrated corner module has been fabricated and tested to validate the new steering mechanism and the integrated corner module characteristics.

Optimization of Double Pivot Suspension Kingpin Axis during Steering

A double pivot suspension used for in-wheel motor electric vehicle was designed, and the virtual prototype model of the suspension assembly was build. The suspension parameters changed greatly during steering. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposed a non-linear response surface model to fit the relationship of suspension parameters and design variables. An optimization scheme was designed based on the response surface model. The suspension performance was improved significantly using optimized variables.

Application of vector finite screw analysis to determine the roll centre from wheel points

In kinematic and compliance testing for suspensions, great importance is attached to the measurement of the instant centre and roll centre. As the suspension construction is truly three-dimensional, the screw axis theory can afford a much more accurate kinematic analysis. The purpose of this study was to present a vector finite displacement method (FSAv) for the kinematic analysis of instant centre and roll centre of suspensions. Two suspension simulation models, with and without approximately singular screw parameter, respectively, were employed to investigate the efficiency of the proposed method. It was found that the FSAv method prevailed over the method of general finite screw axis. In addition, it was not necessary to calculate the velocity matrix from the derivatives. This proposed method, therefore, is suitable for determining the roll centre height and the related parameters of instant centre. Moreover, it can be expanded for the measurement of the kingpin axis as well.