Incorporating working volume and projected area in design criteria for automotive SLA suspension (Q6100355)

In electric cars, large batteries and in-wheel motors account for an increasing demand of space. Hence, spatial constraints, for example in the design of suspension systems, become more important. The authors suggest the working volume as a measure of the space occupied by a suspension system. It can be used as one of several criteria in the system design. They demonstrate their ideas at hand of a double wishbone suspension system and suggest that they can be applied to other suspension systems as well. Based on 2D and 3D kinematic models of the suspension system, working area and working volume are defined in such a way that their boundary contains paths or relevant positions of certain moving points. Also polygonal/polyhedral approximations and convex hulls are considered. The area and volume measures are studied with respect to design parameters. It is possible to decrease them by an appropriate choice of design parameters. The working area is simpler and faster to compute and, under certain conditions, provides a good prediction for the working volume. This is an engineering paper. It is not concerned with mathematically precise definitions or rigorous proofs. Instead, it makes practical suggestions and conducts parametric studies of important quantities. The aim is to provide tools for engineers to use in the multi-objective design process of a mechanical system.