Comfort and Handling of a Commercial Vehicle With Individual Front Suspension

The main focus in the presented work is on the sensitivity analysis of the comfort and handling characteristics of a commercial vehicle with Individual Front Suspension (IFS). For the sensitivity analysis, two simulations in frequency domain are conducted: road input and steering input frequency responses. Employing the model of the tractor semitrailer combination for the above mentioned analyses, this study evaluates the influence of five damping coefficients — cab, front and rear axle shock absorbers — on our objectives. The results that are provided in Pareto fronts clearly show the great influence of the studied parameters, particularly the front axle and cab lateral dampers, on the vehicle comfort and handling for the performed simulations. Finally, the model is updated with the chassis and cab lateral damper coefficients to run a simulation on random roads for more detailed comfort examinations. This analysis confirms the obtained improvements in the outcome of the sensitivity study.