Vehicle Dynamics
Overview
This is a guide to my work in vehicle dynamics, primarily concerning suspension geometry and shock absorbers. I’m currently working on the front suspension geometry for SR26 (2026 vehicle) and I’m excited to share it once the vehicle is revealed.
Rear Suspension Geometry
- I designed the rear suspension geometry on SR25 (2025 vehicle)
- This is a huge optimization problem with 10+ different variables effecting vehicle handling, obstacle performance, and efficiency
- My main goal was to increase the speed we could maintain over obstacles (while maintaining other characteristics)
- This means that the suspension has to absorb more of the impact and the body should stay approximately level
- Iterated through 14 different versions to reach the final design, discussing the pros and cons of each version with team members
- Worked across sub-teams to ensure the geometry accommodated everyone
Shock Absorber Simulation
- I developed a Matlab program to simulate shock behavior based on the force at the wheel
- As input for the program I used data we’d collected of the force experienced at the wheel for a given obstacle
- Then, I treated the suspension arm as a lever to apply this force to the shock
- Next, I used dynamometer data and air spring calculations to determine the force in the shock from both the spring and damper (given the position and velocity of the shock)
- By iterating across many small time steps, I could simulate the shock by staring at an initial condition, solving for the position and velocity, and then feeding that back to find the force again
- This simulation informed our initial tune and allowed us to compete with an optimal tune without rebuilding shock absorbers (after their initial build)