Vehicle suspension optimisation for heavy vehicles on deformable ground

The mathematical prediction of the dynamic behaviour of wheeled off-road heavy vehicles together with the operating limits for vehicles travelling at constant speed in a straight line on deformable ground are investigated. The magnitude and duration of vehicle vibration can increase despite the fact that the deformation of ground acts like a filter for the vertical excitation input. The main result here concerns the conducted optimisation of vehicle suspension parameters for off-road operation by the application of the developed numerical models and procedures. It is shown that higher suspension damping ratio is required as the ground deformability increases in order to minimise vertical vibration.