Abstract—From the beginning of the industrial revolution to the concept of the car of the future, the three wheeled vehicles can hold their headlamps up with glory due to less fuel consumption, as the earth’s energy resources get depleted. Regarding road safety and accident avoidance capabilities, handling characteristics of road vehicles are very important. Handling characteristics are rather confusing because these are affected by suspension and tyre design parameters as well as test driver’s feelings. The vehicle model is represented by two rigid mass systems, and includes aerodynamic resistance, for analyzing the effect of suspension on three wheeled vehicle. The equations are developed for evaluating roll steer, roll camber, and roll moment distributions on front and rear axle. To find the handling behaviour, understeer coefficient has been evaluated and results are presented, considering the above parameters.

Index Terms—Suspension system, Handling characteristics, Understeer coefficient, Three wheeled vehicles

Cite:Sudheer Kumar and V K Goel, "Effect of Suspension System on Handling Behaviour of Threewheeled Vehicle," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Special Issue, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 172-192, January 2014.