Static Stress Analysis Of Suspension Systems For A Solar-Powered Car

Abstract

Suspension systems are designed aiming at providing adequate handling, road holding, comfort and vibration control to a terrestrial vehicle. Being an important issue not only for regular road models, suspension design is a matter of concern that also regards solar electric cars, in which, due to limited power supply, stabilization and energy conservation are of utmost importance. Considering three basic types of suspension widely adopted in road vehicle design, this study presents a preliminary comparison among MacPherson, double wishbone and leaf spring systems, aimed at pointing out the most appropriate design for the solar-powered vehicle hereby considered. It includes a finite element static stress analysis, performed with parametric values for a quarter-car model.