Design of a Vehicle Shock Absorber for Continuously Variable Rebound Damping

Off-Roading provides high frequency, variable amplitude inputs to vehicle dampers, compromising passenger comfort during travel, as most vehicles come equipped with passive dampers which by design compromise between tyre grip and ride quality. These road conditions also exacerbate hysteresis effects on existing semi-active dampers. This study proposes a new approach to achieve semi-active damping to maximise ride comfort for such road conditions by eliminating inconsistent control response and inaccuracy associated with hysteresis in existing systems. The proposed semi-active damper employs a novel variable orifice area valve design, enabling adjustable damping ratios between 0.2 and 0.5 during the rebound phase. Flow simulations in ANSYS and mechanical analysis in SolidWorks validated the damper’s ability to adapt to varying road conditions, with a reaction time under 50 milliseconds (ms). Durability predictions suggested reliable operation for over 40,000 kilometres (km) on rough roads, with minimal performance degradation due to mechanical wear and tear of the critical components. Simulation results highlight the design’s potential as an effective alternative solution for enhanced ride comfort on rough terrain.