Design Optimization of an Integrated E-Type Multilink Suspension Wheel-Side Drive System and Improvement of Vehicle Ride Comfort

Abstract

Distributed-drive electric vehicles constitute an important research direction for the future development of electric vehicles. In this regard, the integrated suspension wheel-side drive system has considerable development potential because it can address the lack of driving smoothness and the grounding deterioration caused by the excessive unsprung mass of the distributed-drive system. However, a complete and systematic description of the design of such a system is not available in the literature. Therefore, this paper proposes a design process for an integrated E-type multilink suspension wheel-side drive system and a method to improve the vehicle ride comfort. Based on a configuration analysis of the E-type multilink suspension using the orientation feature set method, the ADAMS platform was used to optimize the hard point coordinates of the suspension with the integrated E-type multilink suspension wheel-side drive system as the object, and the spring stiffness and damper were designed considering the driving smoothness and the grounding of the vehicle. The bushing stiffnesses were determined through tests, and the feasibility of each bushing installation was determined via elastic kinematic simulation of the integrated E-type multilink wheel-side drive system; then, optimization design of bushing stiffness was carried out for ride smoothness. Then, a lightweight design of the gears’ reducer was performed. Finally, the specific structural design and strength verification of the key components of the designed system were conducted. The results indicated that the strength of each component of the wheel-side drive system met the requirements. Thus, the overall design process of the integrated suspension wheel-side drive system was improved. This study can therefore serve as a reference for the integrated design and vehicle ride comfort improvement of wheel-side drive systems and suspensions.