A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University
of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in Engineering.
Johannesburg 2016 / This investigation considers the influence of a three spring and damper suspension system
(SDS) on overall vehicle performance. Three SDS systems are used in high performance
winged racing cars to manage the effects of the aerodynamic forces. The aim of the investigation
was to quantify and compare the performance of a three SDS system to that
of a conventional two SDS system. The investigation was carried out on the Bailey Cars
LMP2 race car. Physical track testing was conducted on Zwartkops Raceway to measure
the vehicle’s performance, with further testing conducted on the vehicle’s tyres. A software
model of the vehicle and tyres was then created in ADAMS/Car, with models for the conventional
two SDS system, as well as the three SDS system. The ADAMS/Car model was
then validated against the test data. A Design of Experiments approach was used to investigate
the influence of the parameters in both the suspension models. The optimal set of
suspension parameters, that maximised vehicle performance on Zwartkops Raceway, was
then identified. The performance of the optimal suspension systems was then compared to
quantify the effect of the three SDS system. It was found that the optimised three SDS system
travelled 4.38 m less than the optimal two SDS in a 60 second simulation on Zwartkops
Raceway. However, the three SDS was effectively able to isolate the pitch and roll stiffness
of the vehicle. The optimal three SDS had a greater pitch stiffness and less roll stiffness than
the two SDS. This is significant for winged vehicles where aerodynamic forces are highly
sensitive to vehicle pitch, such as the Bailey Cars LMP2 race car, allowing for a soft wheel
rate without sacrificing the pitch stiffness of the vehicle. / MT2017
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/22328 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Berman, Robert |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (xvi, 102 leaves), application/pdf, application/pdf |
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