Comparing the Ride Comfort of Electric Vehicle Using Leaf Spring and Air Suspension Systems

Abstract

This paper uses a 7-degree-of-freedom dynamic model to study electric vehicle ride comfort with leaf spring and air suspension systems. We simulate road surface excitation with sinusoidal ripples at 10–60 km/h. The evaluation focuses on mean displacement and vehicle acceleration. The vehicle body shakes more as speed increases for both suspension systems. The air suspension system performs much better. It reduces vehicle acceleration by 5–17% and displacement by 3–5% compared to leaf spring suspension. At higher speeds, the air suspension dampens oscillations better, improving stability and ride comfort. This study found that air suspension improves electric vehicle driving