An Experimental Study of Nonlinear Viscoelastic Bushing Model for Axial Mode

A bushing is a device used in automotive suspension systems to cushion the force transmitted from the wheel to the frame of the vehicle. A bushing is essentially a hollow cylinder which is bonded to a solid metal shaft at its inner surface and a metal sleeve at its outer surface. The shaft is connected to the suspension and the sleeve is connected to the frame. The cylinder provides the cushion when it deforms due to relative motion between the shaft and sleeve. The relation between the force applied to the shaft or sleeve and its deformation is nonlinear and exhibits features of viscoelasticity. An explicit force-displacement relation has been introduced for multi-body dynamics simulations. The relation is expressed in terms of a force relaxation function and a method of determination by experiments on bushings has been developed. Solutions allow for comparison between the force-displacement behavior by experiments and that predicted by the proposed method. It is shown that the predictions by the proposed force-displacement relation are in very good agreement with the experimental results.