THE INFLUENCE OF ADDITIONAL WEIGHT ON HALF CAR SUSPENSION DYNAMICS WHEN DRIVING ACROSS ARTIFICIAL BUMPS

In this paper a mathematical model of a vehicle with four degrees of freedom i.e. half vehicle model and a procedure for modelling artificial bumps are described. The dimensions of the artificial bumps are prescribed by the Rulebook and depend on speed limits. To show the influence of additional cargo on vehicle movement when driving across artificial bumps, for the selected type of car, required numerical simulations are carried out. All numerical simulations are carried out in the Matlab/Simulink software package. The simulation results are presented in the table form, where the comparison of the maximum values of vehicle and wheel displacements and accelerations for three vehicle speeds (v = 20 km/h, v = 30 km/h and v = 50 km/h) and for two cases, i.e. without and with additional cargo, is given. Vertical and angular displacements and accelerations of the vehicle are also shown in the time domain for speeds 30 and 50 km/h.