Motorcycle (Quarter-Car) Suspension Simulation

MECE 4333 - Vehicle Systems Modeling and Control

The University of Texas - Pan American

July 17, 2006

Introduction
You have been asked to model the response of the front suspension of a motorcycle (refer to Figure 1). The
model will later be used to design a active suspension component. The model should be able to accommodate
a realistic range of frequency inputs from the road surface. The motorcycle suspension is being designed
for a dual-purpose motorcycle that will be used on- and off-road. It will be a touring bike primarily targeted
at customers that like to travel on their motorcycle but wish to take it off-road occasionally to explore
sand dunes, logging trails, creek beds, etc. A range of spring constants and damping coefficients have be
determined and are provided below. However, because the motorcycle will be dual purpose and will use a
tire with some off-road capability, there is some concern as to how the tire wall stiffness and air pressure
will affect the performance. A tire with specified parameters has be chosen for the preliminary design (see kt
and bt below). Thus, you should model the front suspension dynamics with and with out the tire compliance
and damping.

Problem
You must numerically explore the range of possible designs and provide the customer some feedback that
will help him/her select appropriate springs and shock absorbers. The customer has specified that the allow-
able spring rate and damping constant ranges are 2000-8000 N/m and 20-80 N-s/m, respectively. Remember

Figure 1: Photorealistic view of front suspension of the motorcycle.

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that the bike will be dual purpose and must have reasonable off-road ability. Some pertinent parameters are
provided below.

Parameter Value Description

Ws 500 lb Motorcycle weight w/o driver
Wus 100 lb Front suspension unsprung weight
F/R 45/55 Front/Rear weight distribution
kt 80 kN/m Tire wall stiffness
bt 100 N-s/m Tire damping constant

You must model the system in MATLAB/Simulink using several spring rate/damper constant options.
You must determine what the best combination of spring rate and damper constant is for this dual purpose
application. To do so, you will need to simulate the response for the range of spring rates and damper
constants. Additionally, you will have to numerically experiment with a variety of road/terrain profile inputs.
You must derive these inputs yourself, one for a reasonable road surface and another for an off-road surface.
Your simulations should account for the weight of an average driver (remember that the weight distribution
front to rear is 40/60).

Tasks
Complete the following tasks:

1. Derive appropriate profiles to represent the road and off-road terrain surfaces. Within your report,
provide 2-D plots of these profiles with labels. Also, In your report describe how you came up with
these profiles.

2. Assume that the motorcycle is traveling at a constant velocity of your choice (you must qualify this
choice for each surface profile), and program the profile into Simulink as the input to your system.

3. Simulate the response of the motorcycle front suspension for numerous combinations of spring rates
and damper constants within the ranges specified above using each of the surface profiles as inputs.
Within your report provide plots of several of these responses including plots for your recommended
spring/damper combination. Be sure to discuss the results and describe how you chose your final
design.

4. Submit a report detailing your results and final design. Follow the organization provided by the
Report Template which you can download from the class Web site.

Grading
You will be graded separately on the numerical simulations and the report.

Simulations
For the simulations, you must submit as a an appendix to your report all the MATLAB scripts and Simulink
block diagrams used to create the plots. You should also include plots of results. Some of these plots should
appear within the body of the report and the rest can be placed in the appendix. You will graded on the
neatness and organization of your scripts, block diagrams, and plots. Use good programming practices like
providing comments within the scripts. Rule of thumb on plots: the reader (or client) should be able to

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easily decipher what the plot represents (i.e. use labels and legends and organize the data in an appropriate
manner). You will also be graded on the completeness of the results provided whether within the body of
the report or within the appendix.

Variable Percentage
Neatness 10
Organization 20
Completness 70

Report
You must submit a report using the Report Template mentioned above. Be sure to follow the recommenda-
tions mentioned within the template. For instance, figures should have captions and should appear within the
width of the column. You will be graded on neatness, creativity, and completeness. Make your document
look professional. Credit will be given to those that spend extra effort devising realistic road or off-road
surface profiles. Keep in mind that you are describing your results to a client, so be sure to provide sufficient
evidence to support your final design. Make sure that the client can follow along how you came to a final
decision.

Variable Percentage
Creativity 20
Neatness 10
Organization 20
Completness 50