Case study on Carbon Fiber spring suspension for FORD ENDEVOUR THUNDER+

Abstract:
Most of the SUVs (sports utility vehicles) available today, more so in the Indian market, are overdesigned, especially at the chassis and suspension level. This is either done to account for the type of usage and road conditionsorsimplytoextendthefactorofsafetyandproductlife.However,therearesomecategoriesofthese SUVs that are more of ONRoad type and are less meant for OFFRoad usage, in this case the suspension and chassisareeitherleftwiththeiroriginaldesign(incaseofCKDorCBU)whicharesomewaydesignedtotheroad/ usageconditionsofthecountryofitsorigin. Thepresentcasestudyisfocusedonquantifyingthevibrationandshockresponseusingtheexisting(default)metal leaf springs and then by replacing them with carbon fiber springs made by M/s ARC INDUSTRIESIchalkaranji

(Maharashtra,INDIA).Avarietyofroadconditionswereusedtoassessthechangeinthevibrationresponse. 1.0 Introduction Intheclassificationofpersonalutilityvehicles,therearemainlytwocategories,namely Vehicleslikecarsbuiltforsmoothness,stylingandoveralldriveandridecomfort VehicleslikeSportsUtilityVehicles,withbetterbuildquality,ruggednessandimprovedroad handling.

Thetradeoffbetweenthetwoarestraightandsimple;theformerismoregoodforcityandhighway drive and the later more preferred for offroad and all terrain usage. Given this, the builtup of the vehicle also matters greatly interms of engine power, design of chassis, suspension, type and size of tires and so on. Considerations for smooth drive, ride and comfort are inadvertently compromised in case of a SUV owingits basic need ofbuild quality to handle increased loads, roads and terrains. The suspensions inparticular,will play a major role in the overall design andthus be apart of theoverall compromiseintermsofridecomfort. In effect, the SUVs suffer from higher impact loads, vibration and shock as transferred from road conditions; the degree of magnitudes may vary on the SUV variants and makes, but the fact remains thattheyarenowherecomparabletothetypeofcomfortachievedinthecarclassofvehicles,whatis thecompromiseincarcategoryisadifferentissuealtogether.

ThepresentcasestudyistakenupononesuchSUVvehicle;thelatestintheFordrange,theEndeavour Thunder+, the task is a simple, straight forward comparison of transfer functions of vibration loads below and above the rearspring mountings. The following testing conditions were consolidated for testingboththedefaultmetalleafspringsandthereplacementcarbonfibersprings. 2.0 MeasurementConditions/SetupandInstrumentation A typical all mix road condition about 11 km were selected; the terrain has combination of gravelstretch,humpsandbumps,softasphaltedroadandfinallysomestretchofmuddyuneven road. Approachspeedsatselectroadhumpsvaryingbetween40to80kmph. Midgearcontinuousrunonunevenmudterrain. Acceleration/Decelerationonflatasphaltedroadintherangeof100km(up/down) Two triaxial accelerometers, one mounted on the cross bar of the rear wheel (on differential dome) and the second with the certified seat adaptor (for whole body vibration) on the mid roadof thepassenger seating. Both of them connectedto Mobile Data acquisition system for realtimerecordingofvibrationdata.

PicturesofSetupandPreparation Vehiclebeingprepared formounting accelerometers Triaxialaccelerometer mountedonrearaxle differential

ExistingMetalLeaf springsontherear wheel Instrumentation&seat adaptorforvibration mesurements

 PicturesofchangeovertoCarbonFibresprings

3.0 MeasurementsandResults The vibrationaccelerationdatafrom 2triaxial accelerometers were continuouslyrecorded forthe11 kmstretchoftesting(bothwiththemetalandcarbonsprings);themeasureddatawerepostprocessed fortwoparameters 1. Absolute acceleration values g at specific time events; this is related to vehicle speed & specificroadcondition;theconditionsarerepeatedforboththetypeofsprings. 2. Transfer function values between the reference (below springs) and the response accelerometers(ontheseat)tocharacterizetheeffectofthespringperformance. 3. The vehicle had the same loading conditions all through the test; 5 adults + driver were occupyingtheseatingarea. Table below puts across direct comparison of Acceleration g values for a certain set of condition commonforboththetypeofsprings

 Measuremen M nt/RoadCon ndition

Acce elerationvalu ueing*atseat location(+z zdirection) Me etalspringFibrespri ing 1.82 0,4 42 Remarks R

60kmto o20kmdecelerationfla atasphaltroa ad HumpCrossing,br rakingdistance15meter rs 100km to 30km de eceleration flat aspha alt 2.11 0.5 51 ssing, brakin distance 3 ng 34 road rumble cros meters Gravel road continuous vibration at 70 k r km 1.52 0.4 41 speed Reversin ng8meterdistance20kmph 0.47 0.1 13 *Predom minantfrequ uencyinstantaneousvibr ration(canb bereferredto oshock) 4.0 Test tGraphs

Av verage of 5r rumblings Av veraged value

1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 500 10 000 1500 2000 Metal Carbon

Frequ uencyinHz TimevsAmp T plitudedispla acement(mm HumpCrossingat60 m) 0kmph flatA AsphaltRoad d

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 10 5 0 5 10 Metal Carbon

Time inseco onds(0secon ndsrepresen ntpeakofhu ump)

 TimevsAmplitudedisplacement(mm) HumpCrossingat80kmph flatAsphaltRoad

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 10 5 0 5 10 Metal Carbon

Time inseconds(0secondsrepresentpeakofhump) 5.0 ConclusionsandRemarks Thefactoryfitmetalleafspringsarerigidandofferhigherdynamicforcetransfersthroughtheir structureandfinallytotheseatingareaofthevehicle;thiscouldbeadefaultconstraintofusing the metal springs as the design considerations of the vehicle define the spring usage and its overallbuildup. Themiddleandrearseatingareasaremostaffectedbythevibrationandshocktransferthrough therearspringsets;asthelengthoftheoverhangofthechassisoverthefulcrumpointofrear wheeldirectlydefinestheamplificationfactorofdisplacement,therigidconnectionsofferedby themetalspringdoescontributetotheoverallcomfortfeelinthecabinseatingarea. In contrast, the carbon fiber spring offers a overall improved performance in attenuating the input shocks to a great extent; a factor of 4 times reduction in observed in most of the predominantfrequenciesthatwereconsideredforthetests. Thecarbonfiberspringsetsofferahigherdegreeofverticaldirectiondeflection,whilethisisa small concern in terms of static deformation, the overall reduction in dynamic displacements combinedwithincreasedvibrationdampingrationsoffersuperiorridecomfort. Asthemetalspringsareinastackedset,relativelateralmotiontendtocreatequirknoiseover time,thisiscompletelyovercomeincaseofsinglebladecarbonspring. Static deformation in metal springs is a known phenomenon, while this factor is almost negligibleincaseofcarbonspringstested. Theoveralllongitivityofthetestedcarbonspringsareyettobeprovedasthesamplestested areforlimitedperiodoftime.