Abstract
The automotive suspension design process deals with different types of suspension data at different stages of the development process. This demands a deep collaboration between the systems engineers, CAD designers, and CAE analysts. The objective of this study is to build a seamless and collaborative vehicle suspension design process in CAD and CAE based on the systems engineering concept. The suspension design process involving CAD, CAE, and systems engineering, starts with defining the requirements of the system. This study will focus on a double wishbone type of suspension. Initially, the design parameters for the vehicle suspension are defined based on the hard point location coordinates. A sophisticated systems model is developed based on these design parameters for the vehicle suspension skeleton model and sequentially, a vehicle suspension K&C (Kinematics and Compliance) analysis test rig is modelled as well. The design variables from the systems model are then mapped one-to-one to the CAD model. Then, parametric optimization of the design parameters is run to achieve the best vehicle handling performance through K&C analysis, and the optimized model is confirmed by performing a full vehicle dynamic analysis. Also, the initial design space of the upper control arm is built on the skeleton suspension CAD model and topology optimization is performed to obtain the shape of the upper control arm.