Dynamic simulation of seat suspension system with virtual prototyping technology

Abstract

This paper will describe and simulate the dynamic response of an innovative suspension system for vehicle seat. In which, the isolated object is supported by a wedge mechanism which comprises a horizontal spring, a roller and a wedge. Besides, the dynamic stiffness of system is corrected by an auxiliary mechanism (AM) including a roller (follower) which always contacts the circular surface of the cam via another horizontal spring. Hence, this seat suspension prototype not only broad the excitation frequency region but also remains the load bearing capacity and is named by “model with AM”. The dynamic stiffness-configurative parameter relationship is presented. Then, a virtual mechanical prototyping model of the system is created by using SOLIDWORKS software. Next, by applying dynamic analysis in COSMOSMotion module of the Solidworks product family, the real behaviour of system is tested and evaluated without using the traditional build-and-test method. With this way, it can increase the quality of product by reducing manufacturing cost and error. The simulation results show that the model with AM outperforms the linear counterpart. Besides, these results furnish a useful insight for the design and manufacture of the seat suspension system for vehicle.