FRONT SUSPENSION SYSTEM DESIGN FOR A SOLAR VEHICLE
This study explains the design phase of the front axles' suspension systems that will be used at the Istanbul Technical University Solar Car Teams' solar vehicle prepared for the 3000 km race, the World Solar Challenge (WSC), which is held every two years in Australia.
The most significant property of solar vehicles is that they can go long distances with little amount of and with renewable energy. During design phase of these vehicles, at which energy efficiency is considered of upmost importance, different design problems than normal passenger and commercial vehicles must be approached properly and dealt with. In order to give the vehicle aerodynamically the optimal shape, arms of the suspension system have to be placed well above the wheel center. Since those kind of vehicles are mostly 3 wheeled and have high center of masses, while basic stability calculations are highly significant, kinematic problems of the axle geometry and resistance issues, as could often be come across during vehicle technolgy, create target conflicts.
In the study, by the help of commercial softwares like Catia, Solidworks, MSC/Adams and MS/Excel, vehicle dynamics fundamental calculations were taken firstly into consideration. Then, a method was developed to optimise the axle geometry, construction and endurance, as know-how experience concerning vehicle design, especially design of chassis parts of an environmentally friendly vehicle, was collected.
As a result of solid modelling and other CAD techniques in tune with MSC/Adams software, different suspension system layouts were modelled and analysed, aiming to acquire the optimum geometry that provides both driving stability and energy efficiency.