Nonlinear Large Deformation Analysis of Rubber Bumpers in Automotive Suspensions

In this article, rubber bumpers of Double - Wishbone suspension system have been modeled and analyzed. The objective of the present work is to predict the performance of these products during deformation, represent an optimum method to design, obtain stiffness characteristic curves and utilize the results in the automotive suspension dynamic analysis. These parts are nonlinear and exhibit large deformation under loading. They have an important role to limit the motion of wheels and absorb energy. In this study, nonlinear FE model using ABAQUS software was used to obtain the bumper load - displacement curve. Then a laboratory test was done on the bumper to get this curve. The comparison between numerical and experimental results shows a good adaptation. A less than 2 percent difference has been observed between them. Thus, we can use this numerical method to simulate bumpers easily and accurately.