Volume 10 Issue 1 ( March 2023 )

Suspension and steering are subsystems to any automobile which determine how the vehicle dynamically behaves with driver’s and terrain’s combines input and output as response of the vehicle deciding direction, stability and ride, roll characteristics which were used in this study to obtain optimum lap times. The roll cage acts as a skeleton to the body and the suspension system as the limbs trying to maintain stability and safety in the cockpit. This study is based on BAJA SAE rulebook constraints. An iterative process is adopted to finalize suspension parameters followed by ride and roll calculations and suspension geometry selection. The entire setup is simulated using lotus shark suspension analysis and MSC Adams car multibody dynamics suspension testing in various simulations and loading conditions. The change in suspension parameters such as camber gain, castor, wheelbase and toe change during different conditions were noted as design decision parameters and the geometry was optimized accordingly. The subsystem component design such as control arms and mountings were designed using CAD and simulated using FEA modelling on ANSYS simulation software. The resulting structural deformation and dynamic stability were chosen as design decision parameters. The manufacturing process was aided by use of jigs and fixtures to eliminate errors.

Keywords: ATV; Design; Suspension; Steering System