Singularity and workspace analyses of a 3-DOF parallel mechanism for vehicle suspensions

Abstract

This work deals with the singularity and workspace analyses of a threedegree- of-freedom mechanism for rear independent suspensions, capable to adjust simultaneously the camber, rear steering and roll angles. This mechanism is able to improve handling performance when compared to the vehicle with a passive suspension mechanism. The inverse kinematic model was developed for the velocity kinematic analysis. The Jacobian matrices are applied to investigate the mechanism singularity configuration. Finally, the reachable workspace is obtained using the discretization method. The obtained results have shown there is not singular configuration inside the specified workspace. The available workspace can attend the camber and rear steering angles stroke. Moreover, this workspace can be obtained by using standard joints and actuators. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015.