STUDY OF AUTOMOTIVE AIR SUSPENSION

AHMAD ZHARIF FIKRI BIN AHMAD PUAT 1018777

Project Supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Fadly Jashi Darsivan

A REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR A DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
(MECHANICAL-AUTOMOTIVE) (HONOURS)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

Alhamdulillah all praises be to Allah, the most Merciful and beneficent for
bestowing me with the good health and strength, Salawat and Salam to our Prophet
Muhammad S.A.W, the Companion and all believers who follow His path. First and
foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to express my very sincere appreciation
and thankful to my honorable project supervisor, Assistant Professor Dr. Fadly Jashi
Darsivan bin Ridhuan Siradj for his valuable guidance, encouragement and constructive
suggestions during the planning and development of this project. Without him this
project would not be as it is.

Besides, I would like to take this chance to thank a handful technician of

Structure Test Laboratory, Kulliyah of Engineering, Bro. Farid Azmi for arranging
and helping me carry out the experiments for this project. His willingness to give his
time generously with the testing and collection of data has been much appreciated.

I would also like to extend my thanks to Muhammad Mudzakkir Mohamed Hatta,

Mohd Nazrul Azam, Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, Che Mohd Faris and Muhd Nurhaziq
Anin for giving me assistance, moral supports and transportation assistance towards
the completion of this project. Last but not least, my family and relatives. Thank you
very much for everything.

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 ABSTRACT

This study is generally to understand the behavior and characteristics of the

automotive air suspension, the difference between air spring suspension and conventional
coiling springs or leaf springs and also what makes automotive air suspension provide
more advantages than the latter one. The detail about the air spring configuration and
working mechanism of air suspension are also being included in this study. The
methodologies for this study include an experiment of suspension springs to obtain the
spring stiffness which is part of the suspension system. Later on, the experiment for air
suspension is designed for static experimental test for different initial inlet pressure.
Results of the experiment are analyzed and discussed before the empirical model of the
air spring can be generated for each different initial pressure. The conclusion of the
study is also being concluded based on the results and data discussed earlier. The
future recommendation about the study also being described in this study in case there is
any development needed in the future. The study hopefully will provide the industry with
what are really differences, advantages and disadvantages of the air suspension in
producing a better suspension system.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF TABLES vi

LIST OF FIGURES vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Project Scope 6

1.3 Project Objectives 6

1.4 Project Outcomes 7

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction 9

2.2 Automotive Air Suspension 9

2.2.1 Automotive Air Suspension in Industry 10

2.2.2 Air suspension system configuration 11

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 2.2.3 Main components of the air spring 12

2.2.4 Types of Automotive Air spring 14

2.2.5 Air bags 15

2.3 Air suspension working principles 16

2.4 Arrangement of the air spring 17

2.5 Comparison between hydraulic and air suspension 18

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction 21

3.2 Activity Flow Chart 21

3.3 Jig Preparation 23

3.4 Helical Compression Spring Tests 26

3.5 Static Experimental Test 28

3.5.1 Experimental setup 28

CHAPTER 4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Introduction 31

4.2 Helical Compression Spring Stiffness 31

4.3 Static experimental test and analysis 37

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 4.3.1 Empirical Model of air spring 39

4.3.2 Static stiffness of air spring 41

4.3.3 Effective area 43

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION

5.1 Overview 46

5.2 Future work and recommendation 47

REFERENCES 49

APPENDICES 51

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 LIST OF TABLES Page

Table 2.2.3 Detail description of air spring components 13

Table 2.5 Comparison of hydraulic suspension and air suspension 20

Table 4.2.1 Summary of the spring 1 result 34

Table 4.2.2 Summary of the spring 2 result 36

Table 4.3.1 Curve functions with coefficient of determination

for regression curve 40

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 LIST OF FIGURES Page

Figure 1.1.1 Leaf springs, Coil springs and bar springs 2

Figure 1.1.2 Typical shock absorber configurations 4

Figure 1.1.3 Suspension model as sprung mass and unsprung mass 4

Figure 1.4.1 3D CAD modeling of air suspension 8

Figure 1.4.2 Air spring model (a) and its equivalent model (b) 8

Figure 2.2.2 Passenger vehicle air spring systems 12

Figure 2.2.3 Air Spring (detail view) 13

Figure 2.2.4(a) Rolling Lobe air spring type 15

Figure 2.2.4(b) Tapered sleeve air spring type 15

Figure 2.2.4(c) Convoluted air spring type 16

Figure 3.2 Flow chart of the project activities 23

Figure 3.3.1 Complete designed jig 24

Figure 3.3.2 3D CAD modeling of the jig 25

Figure 3.3.3 Fabricated jig 26

Figure 3.4.1 Test for Spring 1 using Universal Testing Machine 27

Figure 3.4.2 Test for Spring 2 using Universal Testing Machine 27

Figure 3.5.1 Schematic Diagram of the static experiment setup 28

Figure 3.5.2 Pre-setup of components 29

Figure 3.5.3 Experimental setup for the static test 29

Figure 4.2.1 Spring 1 Force versus Displacement graph (5mm/min) 32

Figure 4.2.2 Spring 1 Force versus Displacement graph (10mm/min) 32

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 Figure 4.2.3 Spring 1 Force vs. Displacement graph (20mm/min) 33

Figure 4.2.4 Spring 2 Force vs. Displacement graph (5mm/min) 34

Figure 4.2.5 Spring 2 Force vs. Displacement graph (10mm/min) 35

Figure 4.2.6 Spring 2 Force vs. Displacement graph (20mm/min) 35

Figure 4.3.1 Displacement-Force curves in static for various pressures 37

Figure 4.3.2 Stiffness-displacement curves in static test for

various pressures 41

Figure 4.3.3 Finding the effective area of air spring 44

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

mm millimeter

mm2 millimeter square

N/mm Newton per millimeter

N Newton

mm/min millimeter per minute

kN Kilo Newton

mm/s millimeter per second

k Spring constant/ spring rate/ stiffness

viii
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Suspension system for vehicle is an integral part of automotive chassis system

whereas it can be described as the system that comprise of suspension springs, stabilizers

and vibration dampers. Suspension system has been developed during past years with the

first type of the suspension known as leaf springs before the coil springs typed gradually

being introduced. Suspension system must complete several numbers of tasks which are

essential for the overall function of the chassis. These purposes are not only for the ride

comfort ability, but definitely for the overall safety of the vehicle. The main goals of

having a suspension system in a vehicle aside from improving the ride comfort are to

maximize the friction force between the road surface and wheels as well as providing a

stable steering and good handling. Plus, Heiing, B. & Ersoy, M. (2010) stated that this

system was intended to mitigate impacts from the road surface. Absolutely the road

conditions are far from perfect for a smooth ride. Bumps and potholes on the roads

prompt the wheel to move up and down vertically. In order to control and reduce this, a

device known as shock absorber (damper) plays its roles by went through a process called

as dampening. Shock absorbers reduce the vibratory motion and slow it down by turning

the kinetic energy of vertical movement into heat energy and being dissipated through

hydraulic fluid afterward.

1
 Additionally, the suspension system makes a quite contribution in helping

vehicles wheel maintain the contact with the roadway as evenly as possible. This is a

prerequisite for an effective force transfer between the tires and the road surface, which is

essential for road gripping, transfer of power, and braking, all of which are important for

overall driving safety.

Basically, there are two important components of suspension which are steel

springs and dampers. Steel springs can be categorized into three types; leaf springs, bar

springs and helical compression springs (coil springs). Three types of the steel springs can

be recognized in Figure 1.1.1.

Fig. 1.1.1: Leaf springs, Coil springs and bar springs [source: auto.howstuffworks.com]

Leaf springs were the first type springs used in vehicle suspension as mentioned

earlier. Multi-layer leaf springs offer a relatively inexpensive, yet great robust and reliable

solution. Today, the combination of conventional leaf springs and a rigid axle can only be

found on a small number of passenger vehicles (mainly SUVs). For commercial vehicles,

however, leaf springs over other types of springs is that leaf spring not only act as a

2
spring element, but they can also be used as a connecting element between the chassis and

the axle and can even control the axle kinematics with respect to the chassis.

Meanwhile, bar spring or simply torsion bar is described as a straight elastic bar

with a rectangular or circular cross section that is weighted mainly by a torsion and

moment. Torsion bar springs and twisted beams are usually functioned as suspension

springs in passenger cars and vans. They can be used in combination with lateral,

longitudinal, and semi-trailing suspension arms.

Coil springs definitely represent the best idea of spring design for the vertical

suspension of a passenger vehicle. Over time, helical springs almost completely replaced

leaf springs as the main vertical springing component used in modern vehicles. Unlike the

leaf springs, coil spring solely functioning as springing components. Other components

must be used to locate the wheel and dampen vibrations.

Damper or widely known as shock absorber is also an important part of

suspension. It can be said that suspension is a device that overcomes any unwanted spring

motion by slowing down or dampening the vibratory motions. In other words, it turns the

kinetic energy of the suspension up and down movement into heat energy that can be

released or dissipated through pressurized hydraulic fluid. Generally, shock absorber can

be indicated as an oil pump mounted in between car body frame and the wheels. The

3
upper part of the shock absorber is connected to the frame which can be modeled as

sprung mass. Meanwhile, the lower part of the shock absorber is connected to the axle,

nearby the wheels and can be modeled as unsprung mass. Figure 1.1.2 shows the

configuration of the shock absorber for most passenger vehicles.

Fig. 1.1.2: Typical shock absorber configuration [source: bevenyoung.com.au]

While in Figure 1.1.3, the suspension can be modeled in term of sprung and unsprung

mass.

Fig. 1.1.3: Suspension model as sprung mass and unsprung mass [source:
vibrationacoustics.asmedigitalcollection.org]

4
 The suspension eventually works when the wheels hits a bump as it compresses

the suspension and the kinetic energy is stored in the spring and directly after the wheel

pass over the bump, the stored energy earlier wants to flow back and here the damper

plays it roles by dissipating the energy. Additionally, shock absorbers work in two loop

cycles which are the compression cycle and rebound cycle. During compression, the

piston in the shock absorber moves downward compressing the hydraulic fluid in the

chamber beneath the piston. Likewise, the rebound cycle takes place when the piston is

moved upward to top of pressure tube, compressing the working fluid through valves in

the chamber above the piston. Typical passenger cars or lightweight vehicles usually have

more resistance during it rebound cycle than its compression cycle.

Most of the modern shock absorbers are sensitive to velocity. Hence, it can be

concluded that the faster the suspension moves, the more resistance the shock absorber

will behave. So, this makes the shock absorber adjusted to the road conditions and

handling all of the undesired motions that can occur in a moving car, including sway,

bounce, braking and acceleration.

Air Suspension

When it comes to improve the ride, comfortability and handling of ones vehicle,

industries have tried everything including the invention of the air suspension. Air

suspension actually nearly serves as conventional shock absorber and can be described as

5
a type of suspension that supports the vehicles on the axles and powered by driven air

pump or compressor (Thiwari, 2009). Instead of having some types of steel spring

including leaf, coil or bar spring arrangement, and air suspension is made up of air spring

where the compressor pumps the air into a flexible bellows or air bag made from high

textile-reinforced rubber.

1.2 PROJECT SCOPES

In this study, the scopes of the project basically to understand the air suspension

by performing several procedures which are:

1. Front and rear suspension coil spring testing.

2. Static testing and analysis.

3. Generating Empirical Model of air spring.

1.3 PROJECT OBJECTIVES

For this study, generally there are three main objectives that are expected to be

achieved which are:

1. To study the behaviors of the air suspension.

2. To understand characteristics of the static condition of air spring.

3. To generate an empirical model of air suspension at different initial inlet

pressure.

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1.4 PROJECT OUTCOMES

The study of automotive air suspension is carried out for the reason that it will

stimulates the industry to look more into development of this type of suspension. Besides,

the designated experimental procedures that later on will be explained throughout this

study might help in determining the most important variables that associates with

behavior of air suspension. In this study, the working fluid used in the air spring is simply

compressed air. It will be interesting if there is another study that used another form

working fluid or gases to perform the dampening process aside from compressed air. The

result might be different, but in term of objectives its remain identical which is to reduce

the vibratory motion. By referring to this study, the experimental procedures will be

useful in guiding the further study regarding air suspension. Moreover, this study is

focusing only on passive suspension system. For further research and development of air

suspension, it will be beneficial by having semi-active air suspension since the main idea,

parameter, and variables are similar to this study.

3D CAD Modeling

The 3D CAD from the project also can be modeled using any commercial CAD software.

Figure 1.4.1 illustrates the 3D parametric modeling using CATIA V5.

7
 Fig. 1.4.1: 3D CAD modeling of air suspension

In this project, the following 2D model and its equivalent are suppose to be created by

considering both two end plates and the rubber bellow enclose a constant mass of air as

shown in Figure 1.4.2 (Liu and Lee, 2011).

F F
x

P V T M

Equivalent
Pneumatic damper
cylinder

(a) (b)

Fig. 1.4.2: Air spring model (a) and its equivalent model (b)

The below plate of air spring is fixed while the upper plate is eligible to move along

vertically axial direction. Force is applied download and the pressure inside the air bag

rose. The product of pressure and effective area of air spring is the spring force.

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERITURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of an overview concept about the automotive air suspension

used in industry. The following includes a brief explanation about the air suspension in

industry, the main components of the air suspension as well as the configuration of the air

suspension system. The information and the review are referred from journals, research

papers, books, and the information from reliable websites.

2.2 AUTOMOTIVE AIR SUSPENSION

Air suspension as defined by Lane, K. (2002) is a vehicle suspension system

using compressed air in chambers between the wheel and the chassis, replacing steel

springs with a cushion of air. Other than that, air suspension offers lots of advantages in

such ways of reduced weight, adjustable carrying capacity, variable stiffness with almost

constant natural frequency, variability of ride height, reduced structurally transmitted

noise and other things (Liu, H., and Lee, J. 2011). This lead to the widely usage in many

vehicles industries such as luxury passenger cars, mini-vans and sport utility vehicles

(SUV) in line to improve needs of safety and driving comfort.

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 Basically, there will be two major variables that should be taken into

consideration when designing a suspension which are damper rate and spring stiffness.

Spring stiffness gives different requirement depending on the condition of the driving.

Hence, while the vehicle is accelerating, braking, change in loads or taking corner, the

stiffness of the spring should be increased so that the dynamic suspension stroke can be

reduced or ride height changes. On the contrary, during the normal riding, the stiffness of

the springs ought to be softer so that the riding will be smoother. Thus, the variable

stiffness is one of the essential properties that need to be achieved in air spring (Liu H.

and Lee J., 2011).

2.2.1 Automotive Air Suspension in Industry

In Automotive industry nowadays especially in Malaysia, there are still no

glimpse of air suspension applications especially for commercial passenger vehicles.

Nevertheless, in 1901 William H. Humphreys patented (#673682) a Pneumatic Spring

for Vehicles which consisted of a left and right air spring longitudinally channeled

nearly the length of the vehicle (refer Appendices). Since then, the revolution of the air

suspension is slowly evolved until now. Mercedes Benz has lead in this type of

suspension when Mercedes Benz equipped W112 Chassis series cars, 300SE sedans as

well as Coupes or Cabriolets with the air suspension since 1962. Later on, air suspension

for the model of W109 was improved by having a ride height adjustment feature back

then. Nowadays, the application of air suspension have been implemented in such luxury

cars including the models from Rolls Royce, Lexus, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Cadillac

10
(General Motors), Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover/Range Rover, SsangYong, Audi, Subaru,

Volkswagen, Lincoln and Ford, among others. Most of automotive manufacturers begin

to realize that air suspension has been offering numerous advantages regarding the ride

smoothness, safety and comfort. After the positive feedback using the passive air

suspension, some of the manufacturers put more effort into the air suspension system.

Land Rover, SsangYong and some of Audi, Volkswagen and Lexus models started to

develop the semi active height adjustable air suspension system whereas the driver can

control the desired height and suitable for riding in rough terrain.

2.2.2 Air suspension system configuration

The configuration of an air suspension system in a passenger vehicle can be seen

in Figure 2.2.2. In addition to the air-filled spring and damper units mentioned before, a

complete air suspension system also requires a sensor which can detect the instantaneous

height of the vehicles body, an electronic control unit, and a compressor unit including a

compressed air tank and valves which control the flow of air pressure in the four spring

units.

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 Air tank

Solenoid
valves

Fig. 2.2.2: Passenger vehicle air spring system [source: myautomobileguide.blogspot.com]

On the other hand, additional components which are normally required to connect a

separate spring and damper set to one another are no longer needed. The damper tube can

serve as the inner pedestal or as a support for the inner support tube of the air spring, and

the upper part of the air spring can be fastened to the ring or pin joint at the end of the

dampers piston rod. This is one of the advantages posses by air spring where damper and

spring is represented by air bellows itself thus reduced the weight.

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2.2.3 Main components of the air spring

Main components of the air springs are labeled and can be seen in Figure 2.2.3.

Fig. 2.2.3: Air Spring (detailed view) [Source: Juratek.com]

The description of each part of the air spring has been summarized in Table 2.2.3.

Table 2.2.3: Detail description of air spring components

Parts Description

Air Fitting Provide the diaphragm with the air.

The method of permanently sealing the diaphragm or bellows to the

Crimping
bead plate.

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 Top Plate Connects the air spring to the vehicle chassis.

Fixing Studs Secure the air spring to the vehicle chassis.

Solid Rubber safety device to prevent excessive damage to the

Bumper
vehicle and suspension in the event of a sudden loss of pressure.

An outer cover of calendared rubber (passes through a number of

Outer Cover
vertical rollers to ensure uniform thickness)

Fabric textile-reinforced rubber with same bias angle lay opposite to

Second Ply
the first ply.

First Ply One ply fabric reinforced rubber cords at specific bias angle.

An inner layer of calendared rubber (passes through a number of

Inner Layer
vertical rollers to ensure uniform thickness)

Provide lower mounting arrangement for the air spring in form of

Piston tapered holes or studs. (Made of aluminum, steel or composite
material)

2.2.4 Types of Automotive air spring

Nowadays, for the passive air suspension, there are several types of the air spring

used in most passenger vehicles. In Figure 2.2.4(a), (b), and (c), the visible difference

between each type of the air spring is solely on the shape of the air bags of the air spring.

14
Fig. 2.2.4 (a): Rolling Lobe air spring type [source: globalspec.com]

Fig. 2.2.4 (b): Tapered sleeve air spring type [source: etrailer.com]

15
 Fig. 2.2.4 (c): Convoluted air spring type [source: store.gaugemagazine.com]

For the convoluted air spring, in the middle of the air bellow there is a ring called

girdle hoop which is specially designed and made from Aluminum or reinforced wire,

molded into the unit between the convolutions to provide lateral stability.

2.2.5 Air bags

The shape of the air bags determines its characteristics. Any air bag that is placed

under extreme pressure may lose it shape. Convoluted air bags usually made of heavy-

duty reinforced rubber and sometimes have multiple convoluted chambers. Most of the

convoluted air bags typically larger than tapered sleeve air bags. It gives them more loads

handling capacity and lifting. Furthermore, due to the shape and size, typical convoluted

air spring can lift greater force at lower pressure. Since the convoluted air spring can

withstand higher load, most of this type of air spring usually found in tow trucks, motor

homes, trailers, and heavy-duty vehicles. In the meantime, Tapered sleeve type has a

smaller diameter of the air bag compared to the convoluted type. These air bags are

16
designed to focus on lift as well as ride control. The internal mount sleeve is covered in

by a bag, made of a flexible heavy-gauge rubber or synthetic rubber composite. The bag

is crimped into the spring mount on one end and swaged onto the opposite end, sealing

the contents inside (Lansing, A., 2013). This type of air bag is well-suited for the

applications where the load are light and the space are limited. Most of the applications

can be found in lightweight trucks, Street rods and track cars.

2.3 AIR SUSPENSION WORKING PRINCIPLES

In air suspension system, some of the configuration and installation might not be

same and varies among the vehicle models depends on the manufacturers, but the

underlying principle remains identical. Baxter, E. (2012) visualized that, refer to Figure

2.2.2, during the working of the air suspension, the engine-driven air compressor

compresses and supplies the air to the air tank which stored compressed air for the future

use. In the air spring, the compressed air is supplied from the air tank to the air bags

through the pressurized air lines. Since there is a built-in pressure reservoir present, the

flow of the compressed air is equally controlled with solenoid valves. Once the air bag is

filled with the air, it compresses leads to an increase in pressure inside the air bag and

when the air is prolonged, air will come out of the bellows which make the pressure

decreases. These filled and empties mechanism actually determines the riding height of

the vehicles. To that end, since there is increasing in vibratory load, the riding height is

decreases; the stiffness increases and effective volume are decrease as well. As a result,

the effective areas of the air inside air bag increase and lead to increase in load carrying

17
capacity. Meanwhile, when the vibratory load is reduced, definitely the riding height is

increases, the stiffness will reduce and the effective volume will eventually increase. By

that, the effective areas are decreases and thus the load carrying capacity is also reduced

(Liu H. and Lee J., 2011). In this way, within the effective stroke, the spring height,

effective volume and load carrying capacity achieve a smooth flexible transmission

occurs with the increase or decrease of the vibratory load, together with the efficient

control of amplitude and vibratory load. In addition, through the increasing and

decreasing quantity of air-filling, the spring stiffness and load bearing capacity can be

adjusted. It can also be attached to the auxiliary air chamber to achieve self-control.

For the semi active air suspension, there is a valve called Height Control Valve

(HCV) mainly functions as kind of brain to the system where it dictate and direct how

much the air is in the air bags. Thus, it makes the air bags set the vehicle body at desired

height. Meanwhile, the ride height sensors are mounted to the frame of the vehicles to

detect the height of vehicle at instantaneous time.

2.4 ARRANGEMENT OF THE AIR SPRING

For the arrangement of air spring, manufactures consider the lateral stiffness of the car. If

the arrangement allows, it should be arranged outside the frame as far as possible to

increase the center distance of the spring as well as improving the lateral stiffness of the

18
vehicle. Some may call the air spring suspension arranged in this way as anti-roll

suspension.

However, some buses are basically installed with the air spring in the position of the car

chassis leaf spring. In this way, whether it is a leaf spring or air spring automobiles, the

position of spring placed is unchanged. Some users call this air spring suspension as

standard air suspension (Qianchao, Y., 2004).

2.5 COMPARISON BETWEEN HYRAULIC AND AIR SUSPENSION

Basically for the suspension system, there are two types of riding height

adjustment configuration which are air bag systems or pneumatic systems and hydraulic

suspension systems. One of the significant differences between both hydraulic and air

suspension is air suspension use an enclosed rubber bag with the series of valves

connected together to an air compressor. It acts as both spring and damper at a time to

adjust ride quality and height. Furthermore, the related valves control the amount of air

that can be filled in each air bag to rise and lowered the car.

Meanwhile, conventional hydraulic suspensions utilize particular hydraulic fluid

and shocks instead of air bellow with pressurized air. In term of the spring stiffness,

hydraulic suspensions offer much stiffer ride compared to air suspensions since hydraulic

fluid is not as compressible as air. The process of raising and lowering are faster than air

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bag. The following Table 2.5 is a summary of the differences between hydraulic

suspensions and air suspension.

Table 2.5: Comparison of hydraulic suspension and air suspension

Factors Hydraulic Suspension Air Suspension

Appearance

[source: redcatracing.com] [source: arnottindustries.com]

1. Spring used to absorb the

kinetic energy from the 1. Air bag functioned as
suspension movement. both spring as well as
Function
2. Shock absorber used to damper simultaneously.
dissipate the energy
through hydraulic fluid.

Working Fluid Hydraulic Fluid Pressurized air

Load capacity Limited at certain load Varied with load

Stiffness Harder Varied

Source of power None Air compressor and air tank

System arrangement Simple Complicated

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 Theoretically, air suspension is said to be more comfort. So, by doing this study,

the characteristic and behavior of the air suspension can be obtained to prove the theory.

Besides, since the static test will be carried out, the variable characteristic of the air spring

as well as the stiffness can be determined. Liu H. and Lee J. (2011) found that the

polytrophic exponent value actually gives a huge effect to the spring stiffness and the

effective area is the major factor that affects the characteristic curve of the air

suspension.

Despite numerous studies, opinions on the air suspension system and it principles,

focus on the tapered sleeve type of air spring remains limited. As such, this project has to

be conducted to study the behavior and characteristics of static condition of tapered

sleeve air spring. In the next chapter, every steps, activities and tests that have been

carried out are designed to meet the objectives for this study.

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 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of overall activities that need to be implemented in order

to achieve the objectives of the study. The following includes a brief explanation about

the activities that are going to be done including the experiment on two typical coil

springs to get the spring stiffness. Later on, designing the jig that hold the suspension for

the test is also being done. After that, the experiments being designed with required

parameters. The static testing also later on is carried out in order to obtain required data.

Lastly, the empirical model regarding this type of air suspension is also being generated

respectively.

3.2 ACTIVITY FLOW CHART

Flow chart of the activities involved is figured out in order to meet the objectives of the

study. Every activity that appears in the flow chart is an essential one so that the main

objectives can be achieved. Step by step activities are illustrated as shown in Figure 3.2.

22
 Literature Review and development
of the methodology

Pre-design for the spring with

Design and development of the different speed experiment as a
air suspension jig part of suspension system

Jig fabrication Experiments on two helical compression

springs are carried out

Data collection at varied

Pre-design the setup of the speeds test
static experimental test

Experiments on static experiments are

carried out

Data collection of
experiment

Development of empirical model of the End

air suspension

Fig. 3.2: Flow chart of the project activities

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3.3 JIG PREPARATION

As the part of this study, the jig is initially being developed and designed to

hold the air suspension down so that the suspension is constrained to move only in

vertical direction. In addition, all experiments and tests will be done using the Universal

Testing Machine (Shimadzhu 250 kN) located at Structure Testing laboratory (IIUM).

The required measurements are being taken firstly so that during the designing and

fabrication process, there would not be any mismatch-like problems. The first model of

the jig is designed using CATIA V5 based on dimension obtained before. Figure 3.3.1

represents the whole designed model. While Figure 3.3.2 represents upper part of the jig

that is mounted to the upper testing machine and Figure 3.3.3 represents the designed jig

that has been fabricated.

Fig. 3.3.1: Complete designed jig

24
Fig. 3.3.2: 3D CAD modeling of the jig

Fig. 3.3.3: Fabricated jig

25
3.4 HELICAL COMPRESSION SPRING TESTS

As the part of the suspension, spring plays vital task in overall suspension system.

Aside from helping the vehicles wheel maintain the contact with the roadway, more

importantly, it protect the vehicles occupants from impact as well as unwanted vertical

displacement, pitch and yaw oscillations. In this study, determining the spring stiffness is

one of the essential parts. Thus, two helical springs are being taken to the structure test

laboratory for the stiffness test. Spring 1 has cross section diameter of 10.1 mm

meanwhile Spring 2 has diameter of 12.2 mm. Later on, the experiment has been

designed first. Generally, the tests are carried out with different speed of compression.

The experiment for these two springs are carried out in different speed test due to

investigate whether there will be any different in the effect of force versus displacement

graph that later on will be plotted and analyzed. By using Universal Testing Machine

(Shimadzhu 250 kN), Figure 3.4.1 and 3.4.2 show both different springs test that have

been conducted.

26
Fig. 3.4.1: Test for spring 1 using Universal Testing Machine

Fig. 3.4.2: Test for spring 2 using Universal Testing Machine

27
 After the experiments were done, the force and displacement data are collected.

Since the maximum stroke has been restricted to only 60 mm, the force data collected

only from 0mm to 60mm range. The force versus displacement graph for each speed test

is plotted in the next chapter.

3.5 STATIC EXPERIMENTAL TEST

3.5.1 Experimental setup

The main idea of having the static experimental test is to know the static stiffness

of the air suspension. Furthermore, Tapered Sleeve type of air spring is going to be used

and tested throughout the study. Figure 3.5.1 demonstrates the schematic diagram of the

experiment, Figure 3.5.2 shows the pre-setup of components before experiment and

Figure 3.5.3 depicts the experimental setup for the static test.

Fig. 3.5.1: Schematic Diagram of the static experiment setup

28
 Fig. 3.5.2: Pre-setup of the components

Fig. 3.5.3: Experimental setup for static test

29
 Based on the diagrams, the air suspension is placed on the damper testing machine

with the upper fixture fabricated earlier and bottom parts of the suspension is held by the

clamper. The upper part of the testing machine equipped with load cell connecting

measures the air spring force. Regulator regulates the amount of air that pass through

pipeline at certain desired pressure and the pressure gauge measures the inlet air pressure

just before the air enters the air spring. Meanwhile, 3-way manual control valve is used to

control the flow in and out of compressed air into the air spring using a lever manually.

The static test for the air suspension has been performed with initial pressure of 2, 4, 6, 8,

and 10 bar respectively. It also being set that the actuator movement speed is 0.2 mm/s in

order to meet the condition of static test. After that, the static characteristics can be

obtained and analyzed at once.

30
 CHAPTER 4

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1 INTRODUCTION

After all the experiments have been carried out, the result obtained will be discussed. First

test involving two helical compression springs (coil spring) was analyzed. The force

versus displacement graph was generated from the data obtained. Then, the static test was

carried out to obtain the static stiffness of the air spring. The data collected are used to

plot force versus displacement graph and static stiffness versus displacement graph. The

analyses were discussed regarding the test.

4.2 HELICAL COMPRESSION SPRING STIFFNESS

After the tests for both springs have been done, the force versus displacement

graphs for each springs have been plotted with different test speeds. Figure 4.2.1, 4.2.2

and 4.2.3 shows the force versus displacement graph for spring 1 with diameter of 10.02

mm.

31
 Force(N) Force vs Displacement for 5mm/min
450

400
y = 6.8156x - 2.116
350

300

250
Force
200

150
Linear (Force)
100

50

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
-50
Displacement (mm)

Fig. 4.2.1: Force versus Displacement graph (5mm/min)

Force(N) Force vs Displacement for 10mm/min

450
400
y = 6.9614x - 0.1376
350
300
250
200 Force N

150 Linear (Force N)

100
50
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
-50
Displacement (mm)

Fig. 4.2.2: Force versus Displacement graph (10mm/min)

32
 Force(N) Force vs Displacement for 20mm/min
450
400
y = 6.9238x - 0.6238
350
300
250 Force N

200
Linear (Force N)
150
100
50
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
-50
Displacement (mm)

Fig. 4.2.3: Force versus Displacement graph (20mm/min)

Obviously, from the graph plotted for each test speed, when can see that force is almost

linear with the displacement. This shows that the spring 1 has a linear stiffness regardless

the test speed. Figure 4.2.1 shows that for the test speed of 5 mm/min, the maximum force

for the stroke of 60 mm is around 406 N. Means that, to be able to displace the spring to

60mm, the required force is 406 N. The slope from the graph directly gives the spring

constant or the stiffness which is 6.8156 N/mm. In Figure 4.2.2 and 4.2.3, the maximum

force for 60 mm stroke is around 415 N and the stiffness for 10 mm/min and 20 mm/min

are 6.9614 N/mm and 6.9238 N/mm respectively. Clearly from the result obtained, the

spring stiffness did not change much with variable test speed. Table 4.2.1 summarized the

stiffness of each test speed.

33
 Table 4.2.1: Summary of the spring 1 result

Speed Test Maximum Force (N) Slope/stiffness (N/mm)

5mm/min 406.2653 6.8156

10mm/min 416.9146 6.9614

20mm/min 414.7689 6.9238

Average 412.6496 6.9003

In the meantime, Figure 4.2.4, 4.2.5 and 4.2.6 illustrates the graph of force versus

displacement for Spring 2 for each 5mm/min, 10mm/min, and 20mm/min test speed.

Force vs Displacement for 5mm/min

Force (N)
500

y = 7.2831x - 23.671
400

300

200

100

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Displacement (mm)
-100

Fig. 4.2.4: Force versus Displacement graph (5mm/min)

34
 Force (N) Force vs Displacement for 10mm/min
500

y = 7.3711x - 21.129
400

300

200

100

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Displacement (mm)
-100

Fig. 4.2.5: Force versus Displacement graph (10mm/min)

Force vs Displacement for 20mm/min

Force (N)
500
y = 7.3997x - 20.961
400

300

200

100

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

-100 Displacement (mm)

Fig. 4.2.6: Force versus Displacement graph (20mm/min)

35
 For the spring 2, from the graph plotted for each test speed, when can see that

force is also almost linear with the displacement. This shows that the spring 2 also has a

linear stiffness regardless the test speed. Figure 4.2.4 shows that for the test speed of 5

mm/min, the maximum force for the stroke of 60 mm is around 432 N. Means that, to be

able to displace the spring to 60mm, the required force is 432 N. This is acceptable since

the inner and outer diameter of the Spring 2 is larger than Spring 1. The stiffness for the

spring is 7.2831 N/mm. On the other hand, in Figure 4.2.5 and 4.2.6, the maximum forces

for 60mm stroke are 438 N and 439 N respectively. Meanwhile, the stiffness for

10mm/min and 20mm/min are 7.3711 N/mm and 7.3997 N/mm respectively. The

conclusion is, the spring stiffness also did not change much with variable test speed for

the Spring 2. Summary of the stiffness for each test speed is illustrated in Table 4.2.2.

Table 4.2.2: Summary of the spring 2 result

Speed Test Maximum Force (N) Slope/stiffness (N/mm)

5mm/min 432.0145 7.2831

10mm/min 437.8160 7.3711

20mm/min 438.9286 7.3997

Average 436.2530 7.3513

36
4.3 STATIC EXPRIMENTAL TEST AND ANALYSIS

For static experiment test, from the experiments were conducted, it is expected

that the result that can be drawn from the static test is; the stiffness for the air suspension

definitely varied as it travel in vertical direction. The force versus displacement for static

test showed some variability since it is nonlinear spring. Figure 4.3.1 illustrates force

versus displacement graph for static test.

Force vs Displacement of Static test

Force (N)
14000

12000

10000
P ini.=2bar

P ini.=4bar
8000
P ini.=6bar
6000 P ini.=8bar

P ini.=10bar
4000

2000

0
0 0.3 0.7 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40
Displacement (mm)

Fig. 4.3.1: Displacement-Force curves in static test

37
 As such, the result depicts the force (N) versus displacement (mm) graph

represents the compression cycle for the air spring. Consequently, it was found that the

compression of the gas took place quite slowly. The result clearly indicates that the initial

forces for each initial pressure to compress the air spring are higher and greater than coil

springs. This is due to the preloaded pressure created inside the air spring even when the

air spring is not yet being undergone compression cycles, the initial force already there.

Firstly, for the initial inlet pressure of 2 bar, the required force started to displace

the air spring around 24.23 N to be able to displace the air spring and then it significantly

increase up until 2629.03 N for maximum force of full 40 mm displacement. Then, for the

initial pressure of 4 bar, the starting force is 106.345 N and the maximum force is

4187.41 N. It is followed by initial pressure of 6 bar where the starting force to compress

the air spring is 363. 79 N and maximum force required is 6301.37 N. Meanwhile, for 8

bar of initial pressure, it is found that the initial force is 605.691 N and the maximum is

8198.56 N respectively. The last initial inlet pressure tested which is the highest with 10

bar recorded 1200.342 N of starting compressive force and ended with maximum force of

10861.39 N.

38
 In the meantime, Figure 4.3.1 also directly indicates the variability of the stiffness

characteristic of the air spring for static condition. Obviously, it can be concluded that the

forces required are non-linear to displacement. Besides, it can be seen that for the first 20

mm of displacement, the graphs denotes some degressive pattern then it gradually

changing to progressive pattern for the last 20 mm displacement. This variability

indicates how the stiffness of the air changed due to pressure inside the air bag as it resists

the force on it and act like a spring. It also shows that, the higher pressure needs higher

force so that the air spring can be able to be displaced.

4.3.1 Empirical Model of air spring

Hence, from the force-displacement graph plotted before, the right empirical model can

be extracted from the curves. For this study, the model fitting technique is used to find the

appropriate model for each initial pressure of air spring. Basically model fitting technique

is a method of finding a function that is as close as possible to containing all the data

points. Such function is also called a regression curve. (Vas, L., n.np). Thus, Table 4.3.1

gives an overview of the suggested empirical model of air spring for each initial inlet

pressure.

39
 Table 4.3.1: Curve functions with coefficient of determination for regression curves

Coefficient of
Initial inlet Curve functions
determination
pressure (bar)
(R2)

2.0 y = 0.1395x3 - 9.0903x2 + 199.93x + 372.58 0.9364

4.0 y = 0.2534x3 - 16.823x2 + 360.99x + 652.64 0.9224

6.0 y = 0.4104x3 - 28.025x2 + 596.59x + 1354.6 0.8994

8.0 y = 0.5325x3 - 37.076x2 + 810.33x + 1534 0.9421

10.0 y = 0.5612x3 - 36.154x2 + 731.85x + 4086.2 0.767

For the model fitting, Microsoft Excel 2007 is used to find the respective

regression curves for each initial pressure. For simplicity, polynomial with third order

function is used as it provides enough information and suitable for the curves plotted. For

sure to get a better equation the higher order function can be implied. Moreover, there is a

variable used to monitor the validity of the model which known as coefficient of

determination denoted by R2. Andale (2012) defined coefficient of determination as a

percent where It gives you an idea of how many data points fall within the results of the

line formed by the regression equation. The R2 values usually in range of [0, 1] which

indicate how close the data points to be correctly on the polynomial regression curve.

40
Plus, if R2 of ones model is closer to 1, it is reliable and if it is closer to 0, then the other

model should be determined. Most of the R2 values are quite nearly to value 1 which it is

reliable for being accepted as an empirical model. As being tabulated, the best model is

regression curve of 8.0 bar inlet pressure with R2=0.9421; it is followed by curve of 2.0,

4.0, 6.0 bar inlet pressure. The least regression curve indicates 10.0 bar inlet pressure with

R = 0.767. From the table, it is clearly shows that every curve gives a good indication

how the regressive goes.

4.3.2 Static Stiffness of air spring

Nevertheless, from the curve fitting technique, the curve function equation can be

used to find the stiffness of each initial pressure of the air spring. By differentiate the

curve function F=F(x), the stiffness ( = ) for the air spring can be obtained where x is

the distance travelled. Thus, Figure 4.3.2 illustrates the air spring stiffness versus

displacement graph.

41
 Static Stiffness versus displacement
900

800

700
2bar
Air Spring Stiffness (N/mm)

600
4bar
500
6bar
400
8bar
300
10bar
200

100

0
0.1 0.5 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39
-100
Displacement (mm)

Fig. 4.3.2: Static stiffness-displacement curves

Figure 4.3.2 shows the result of differentiating force with respect to displacement.

The static stiffness is calculated under different initial inlet pressure. For initial pressure

of 2 bar, the starting force needed to displace the air spring produce the stiffness around

83.672 N/mm. As the air spring traveled, the stiffness is gradually decreased before it

reached the lowest stiffness which is around 17.268 N/mm before it rapidly increased up

to 89.344 N/mm. Meanwhile for the highest initial pressure of 10 bar, the stiffness started

at 226.18 N/mm with the lowest of 19.2928 N/mm before reached 298.18 N/mm of

maximum stiffness of 40mm distance traveled.

42
 Other than that, overall curves show the quadratic-typed of graph. The last 20 mm

displacement also shows significant increases in progressive way as it travelled. It can be

said that the air spring is getting stiffer which good for prevent rolling while vehicles

perform braking or cornering. Besides, the graph clearly indicates that there is a lowest

area for each pressure within the displacement range. This means that at this particular

displacement, the air spring is soft which is good for normal maneuvering. This is

consistent with Liu H. and Lee J. (2011) which claimed that if the air spring stiffness is

low, it has lower natural frequency that can help in reducing vibration.

4.3.3 Effective Area

On one hand, the stiffness of the air spring actually changing based on the

compressed air volume inside the air bellow as well as the diameter of the air bellow

itself. This is proved by Prof. Dr. Gavriloski V., and Jovanova J. (n.p) and Liu H. and Lee

J. (2011) which reported that the changes in the stiffness present when both internal

pressure and air bag size change. Therefore, one of the factors influenced the sensitivity

of the spring stiffness is the effective area of the cross section. Effective area as defined

by Firestone Industrial Company (2003) is the load carrying area of the air spring. Its

diameter is determined by the distance between the centers of the radius of curvature of

the air spring loop. (p. 38).So, the effective area of the air spring can be considered as an

43
average value for the outer diameter of air bellow and piston diameter inside the air bag.

Figure 4.3.3 shows how the effective area is found together with the formula.

Fig. 4.3.3: Finding the effective area of air spring [source: Firestone Industrial Company]

The pressure inside the air bellow consequently affects the outer diameter of the

air bellow. Thus, the higher the pressure inside the air bellow the bigger the diameter will

be. In order to find the effective area for this air spring, the initial pressures and force

required are used to calculate the approximation of the effective area. As such, this is

supported by Firestone Industrial Company (2003) where Conversely, dividing the

measured output force of the spring by the measured internal gauge pressure obtains the

correct effective area. In many cases, this is the only practical way to obtain it. (p. 7).

Nevertheless for this study, due to limited fund to acquire a pressure sensor to

measure the actual pressure inside the air bag, it only can be assumed that the effective

area of air spring will be increased as it travels. Higher pressure provides bigger effective

area of the air spring. This behavior indicates that the gas inside air bellow is the

medium which is responsible for the elasticity of the complete setup since it fulfills the

44
most important tasks (spring rate) its properties are predominantly important for the

behavior of the whole suspension system (Bauer, W., 2011). This clearly suggests that as

the sensitivity of the stiffness influenced by effective area as the pressure rise, the

effective diameter will be bigger. From the findings, it also can be concluded that the

variability of the stiffness provided by the air spring gives them an ability to vary load

capacities easily by play around with the gas pressure to compliment the desirable ride.

In general, the process involves in this study is compressed volume with air flow

process whereas the pressure is changes. Basically, the condition applied when the load is

added or removed from above the air spring cover. This is different for dynamic

operation, where the pressure, volume and temperature are instantaneously changing and

undergo polytrophic process as it present the actual compression and expansion curves. In

real life situation, when the load is added or removed, the height control valve operates to

add or remove sufficient air in the air spring to maintain the set air spring overall height.

Consequently it increases or decreases the pressure inside air spring and the amount

needed to provide the required lifting force to match the downward direction force

created by the new load condition, and then equilibrium can be reached again.

45
 CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

5.1 OVERVIEW

In conclusion, the study conducted successfully achieved the objectives. Yet, in

order to deeply understand air suspension characteristics, the static and dynamic

experiments must be implemented on the air spring thoroughly so that it can be applied

on the vehicles respectively. Throughout this study, the following conclusion can be

drawn.

The traditional helical compression spring actually gives a linear force-

displacement graph which makes the stiffness is constant.

Static stiffness of the air spring ought to be varied along with the pressure and

displacement. This actually matches the theoretical statement that air spring

posses a variable stiffness which make it more comfort for riding.

The empirical model of air spring can be generated by curve fittings whilst it

suggest how close the graph to the errors.

Air volume and pressure are important factors that largely affect air spring

characteristics.

Air spring static stiffness is sensitive to the effective area of the cross section and

it increases as the pressure and displacement going up.

46
 The bottom line for this study is that the versatility of an air spring simply provides

more advantage over a coil-type since it has the ability to change suspension setup

anytime for better ride comfortability.

5.2 FUTURE WORK AND RECOMMENDATION

The characteristic of the air spring definitely open a new chapter of the

automotive suspension industry. Besides, the nearest future work that can be done is the

study on the dynamic stiffness of the air spring which will be far more complicated and

could not be carried out in this study due to various limitations.

Other than that, since the stiffness of the air spring depends on pressure inside the

air bag, it is recommended to have a force adjustable for air suspension. This might be

achieved by having another control unit focusing on adjusting the air suspension to meet

the desired ride. Other than that, for this study, the 3-way manual control valve is used.

So, it would be very helpful if the experiment use any proportional or solenoid valve in

the study.

47
 Nowadays in industry, for all four air suspensions mounted on each side of front

and rear axles, the air is supplied merely from an air tank. The pressure lines for each air

suspension are also quite long. This is actually leaded to some pressure loss along the way

to reach the air bags. It is recommended that for each one of the air suspension, they have

their own air supply. This is actually made the air suspension more accurate in

determining the height of the vehicle as well as avoiding any pressure loss.

48
 REFERENCES

1. L. Hao & L. Jaecheon. 2011. Model Development of Automotive Air Spring Based on
Experimental Research. pp. 585-590.

2. William H. Humphreys. 1901. Pneumatic Spring for Vehicles, Patented No. 673682.

3. Lansing, A. 2013. Michigan Company. Bellows versus Sleeve Air Bags.

Retrieved on 10/12/2014 from
airliftcompany.com/workshop/bellows-vs-sleeve-air-bags.

4. Baxter, E. 2012. "How Air Suspension Systems Work".

Retrieved on 7/4/2014 from
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/air-suspension-systems.htm

5. Y. T. QianChao. 2004. Working Principle of Air Spring.

Retrieved on 23/11/2013from
airspringworld.com/profile/working-principle.html/129861/0.

6. Vas, L. (n, n.p), Math 422: Empirical Model.

Retrieved on 5/6/2014 from
http://www.usciences.edu/~lvas/Math422/Empirical_models.pdf.

7. Bauer, W. 2011. Hydro pneumatic Suspension systems, chapter 2: Spring and Damping
Characteristics of Hydro pneumatic Suspension Systems. pp. 20-22.
Retrieved on 6/6/2014 from
http://www.springer.com/978-3-642-15146-0

8. S. J. Lee. 2002. Development and analysis of an air spring model. International Journal of
Automotive Technology. No. 4. pp. 471-479.

49
9. Heiing, B. & Ersoy, M. 2010. Chassis Handbook, chapter 3: Chassis components
Fundamentals, Driving Dynamics, Components, Mechatronics, Perspective. pp. 226-264.

10. M. S. M. Sani, M.M. Rahman, M.M.Noor, K. Kadirgama & M. R. M. Rejab. 2008. Study
on Dynamic Characteristics of Automotive Shock Absorber System. Malaysian
Science and Technology Congress, MSTC08, 16-17 Dec 2008, KLCC, Malaysia.

11. Andale. 2012. Coefficient of Determination: What it is and How to Calculate it.
Retrieved on 5/6/2014 from
http://www.statisticshowto.com/what-is-a-coefficient-of-determination/

12. Giuseppe, Q. & Massimo, S. 2001. .Air suspension Dimensionless Analysis and Design
Structure, Vehicle System Dynamics, No. 6. pp. 443-475.

13. Ass. Prof. Dr. Gavriloski, V. & Jovanova, J. (n, n.p). Dynamic behavior of an air spring
element.
Retrieved on 5/6/2014 from
http://www.mech-
ing.com/journal/Archive/2010/4_5/1.Mashini/75_gavriloski.mtm10.pdf

14. Cunningham, R. 2012. What a Negative Spring is and why it makes the Coil-Spring
Nearly Obsolete.
Retrieved on 22/5/2014 from
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday-negative-spring-air-shocks-2012.html

15. Lane, K. 2002. Automotive A-Z: Lane's Complete Dictionary of Automotive Terms.
Veloce Publishing Ltd. p 22.

16. Firestone Industrial Products Company. 2003. Airide Design Guide: Suspension
applications.
Retrieved on 5/6/2014 from
http://www.firestoneip.com/site-resources/fsip/literature/pdf/AirideDG.pdf

50
APPENDICES

51
a) William W Humphrey first air suspension patent (No. 673682), Pneumatic
spring for vehicle

52
b) Force-displacement curve of static for 2 bar initial pressure

2 bar pressure force vs displacement

Force (N)
3000
y = 0.1395x3 - 9.0903x2 + 199.93x + 372.58
2500
R = 0.9364
2000
P ini.=2bar
1500
Poly. (P ini.=2bar)
1000

500

0
0 10 20 30 40 50

c) Force-displacement curve of static for 4 bar initial pressure

4 bar pressure force vs displacement

Force(N)
5000
4500
y = 0.2534x3 - 16.823x2 + 360.99x + 652.64
4000
R = 0.9224
3500
3000
2500
P ini.=4bar
2000
Poly. (P ini.=4bar)
1500
1000
500
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Displacement (mm)

53
d) Force-displacement curve of static for 6 bar initial pressure

Force (N)
6 bar pressure force vs displacement
7000

6000

5000

4000 y = 0.4104x3 - 28.025x2 + 596.59x + 1354.6

R = 0.8994
3000

2000
P ini.=6bar
1000
Poly. (P ini.=6bar)
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Displacement (mm)

e) Force-displacement curve of static for 8 bar initial pressure

8 bar pressure force vs displacement

Force (N)
10000
9000 y = 0.5325x3 - 37.076x2 + 810.33x + 1534
R = 0.9421
8000
7000
6000
5000
P ini.=8bar
4000
Poly. (P ini.=8bar)
3000
2000
1000
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Displacement (mm)

54
f) Force-displacement curve of static for 10 bar initial pressure

10 bar pressure force vs displacement

Force (N)
14000

12000
y = 0.5612x3 - 36.154x2 + 731.85x + 4086.2
R = 0.767
10000

8000

6000 P ini.=10bar

Poly. (P ini.=10bar)
4000

2000

0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Displacement (mm)

g) Static stiffness-displacement curve for 2 bar

Stiffness 2 bar static stiffness vs displacement

(N/mm)
250

200

150

2bar
100

50

0
0 10 20 30 40 50
displacement (mm)

h) Static stiffness-displacement curve for 4 bar

55
 Stiffness
(N/mm)
4 bar static stiffness vs displacement
400

350

300

250

200 4bar
150

100

50

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
-50
displacement (mm)

i) Static stiffness-displacement curve for 6 bar

6 bar static stiffness vs displacement

700

600

500

400

300 6bar

200

100

0
0 10 20 30 40 50
-100

56
j) Static stiffness-displacement curve for 8 bar
Stiffness
(N/mm) 8 bar static stiffness vs displacement
900
800
700
600
500
400 8bar
300
200
100
0
-100 0 10 20 30 40 50
Displacement (mm)

k) Static stiffness-displacement curve for 10 bar

10 bar static stiffness vs displacement

800
700
600
500
400
10bar
300
200
100
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
-100

57