Transient dynamic impact suppression of a Baja chassis using frontal and rear shock absorbers

Abstract

This paper investigates the behavior of impact loading on a Baja vehicle chassis with frontal and rear shock absorbers, using transient dynamic analysis under different assumptions of contact conditions. Using a Baja car, a transient dynamic impact is performed in ANSYS Workbench 14.0, where the maximum deformation, stress, and strains are calculated over duration of the particular impact. The mathematical model of the chassis is derived based on Kelvin model in order to design the best parameters of stiffness and damping coefficient in shock absorbers to minimize the deformation of the frame with the same impact. To study the effects of shock absorber under loading on a vehicle chassis, multiple finite element simulations are performed with different methodologies. Each methodology uses a different assumption on loading and boundary conditions, which leads to different results.