METHODS FOR THE CALCULUS OF THE ROAD WHEEL VERTICAL LOAD

Abstract

The static vertical load of the wheel roads plays a key role in the optimization of the suspension. The input criteria for set up the suspension include the clearance of the vehicle, the longitudinal inclination of the vehicle as well as the stiffness of the suspension resulted from ride comfort optimization. Additional calculus difficulties occur for vehicles with more than 3 road wheels on each side. The paper presents an analytical model for calculus of the vertical load of the road wheels applied to a tracked vehicle with 7 independent torsion bars suspension on each side. For a similar vehicle, the vertical loads are estimated using multi-body based software, such as Recurdyn. Neglecting the influence of the track, the methods may be extended for wheeled platforms with independent suspensions.