Adopting Pothole mitigation system for improved ride, handling and enhanced component life

Potholes are a major cause of discomfort for riders and vehicle damage. The passive suspension systems which are used in the passenger vehicles are primarily reaction based. These can’t adapt to the changing road conditions which means the best ride quality and handling characteristics cannot be ensured for different driving situations. Passive suspension system also needs more maintenance due to its inability to reduce the impact of the road irregularities. In recent years, semi-active suspension systems have been developed to improve ride comfort and vehicle safety. Here, a semi-active suspension system with a road preview mechanism has been integrated with a TATA car model to investigate its impact on ride comfort, handling characteristics and component loads in digital domain. A quarter car vehicle model is used to compare different active damping control strategies. The best strategy is selected and integrated with a full vehicle model developed in a MBS tool to gain deeper insight on ride and loadpaths. The simulation results show that the proposed system reduces the vertical acceleration and displacement of the vehicle during pothole impacts. The system has an improved impact on the vehicle's pitch, roll and other critical dynamics. Loads on different suspension components also has reduced. Adoption of semi-active suspension systems in a TML passenger cars has led to a transformation in the performance of ride comfort, handling dynamics and enhanced component life. The proposed system provides a practical and cost effective solution to address the issue of potholes and has a positive impact on vehicle dynamics during pothole impacts. Overall, it will provide a more dynamic, comfortable and safer driving experience, making it a choice for a high performance car.