SupplierBusiness The Advanced Automotive Suspension Systems Report · 2014-04-28 · Automotive SupplierBusiness | The Advanced Automotive Suspension Systems Report. Key market drivers

SupplierBusiness

The Advanced Automotive Suspension Systems Report

2014 edition supplierbusiness.com

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IHS Automotive

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2014 edition 2 © 2014 IHS

IHS Automotive SupplierBusiness | The Advanced Automotive Suspension Systems Report

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ContentsIntroduction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5Key market drivers .......................................................................................................................................................... 8

Increasing degrees of electrification ........................................................................................................................ 8Efficient handling of multiple voltage architectures ...................................................................................................... 13

Greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency ..................................................................................................... 14The European Union .................................................................................................................................................. 15The United States ....................................................................................................................................................... 16Japan ..........................................................................................................................................................................17China ..........................................................................................................................................................................17Other countries ...........................................................................................................................................................17

Weight reduction and materials ............................................................................................................................... 18Competition and cost ................................................................................................................................................ 21

Suspension technology development ........................................................................................................................ 24 Moving from passive to active suspension ............................................................................................................ 24 Suspension systems ................................................................................................................................................. 29

Rigid axle suspension ................................................................................................................................................ 29Semi-rigid axle suspension ........................................................................................................................................ 30Independent suspension systems .............................................................................................................................. 31Strut-type suspension systems .................................................................................................................................. 32Front suspension market development ....................................................................................................................... 32Rear suspension market development ....................................................................................................................... 33

Spring systems .......................................................................................................................................................... 34Leaf springs ............................................................................................................................................................... 34Torsion bar springs ..................................................................................................................................................... 34Composite springs ..................................................................................................................................................... 36Titanium springs ......................................................................................................................................................... 36Hydropneumatic spring systems ................................................................................................................................ 37Pneumatic springs ..................................................................................................................................................... 37Electronic spring systems ........................................................................................................................................... 41Electrical active body control (eABC) .......................................................................................................................... 42Wheel, body, and roll damping (ASCA) ....................................................................................................................... 42

Dampers/shock absorbers ....................................................................................................................................... 42Vibration dampers or shock absorbers ...................................................................................................................... 43Amplitude Selective Damping ..................................................................................................................................... 44Gas charged shock absorbers ................................................................................................................................... 44Position Sensitive Damping ........................................................................................................................................ 45Dynamic Ride Control ................................................................................................................................................ 45BWI’s manual selectable ride ..................................................................................................................................... 46BWI’s Bi-State real time damping system ................................................................................................................... 46Adaptive damping ..................................................................................................................................................... 47Frequency Dependent Damping (FDD) ....................................................................................................................... 47Tenneco’s Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension (CES) and Kinetic H2 CES system ................................... 47ZF preloaded valve and vario damper technology ...................................................................................................... 50

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ZF Sachs Continuous Damping Control ..................................................................................................................... 51Magneto-rheological damping .................................................................................................................................... 51

Stabilisers or anti-roll systems ................................................................................................................................ 53Other components ..................................................................................................................................................... 57

Knuckles/Uprights ...................................................................................................................................................... 57 Ball joints .................................................................................................................................................................... 57 Bushings .................................................................................................................................................................... 58

Suspension control systems .................................................................................................................................... 58Kinematics and elastokinematics ............................................................................................................................... 58Vertical dynamic control systems ............................................................................................................................... 59Variable dampers ....................................................................................................................................................... 59Ride comfort .............................................................................................................................................................. 59The threshold value strategy ....................................................................................................................................... 59The skyhook strategy ................................................................................................................................................. 60

Supplier Profiles ............................................................................................................................................................ 62Benteler ....................................................................................................................................................................... 62BWI Group ................................................................................................................................................................... 73KYB .............................................................................................................................................................................. 75Magneti Marelli .......................................................................................................................................................... 78Mando ......................................................................................................................................................................... 90Metaldyne ................................................................................................................................................................. 100NHK Spring ............................................................................................................................................................... 106SANLUIS Passani ......................................................................................................................................................114ThyssenKrupp ...........................................................................................................................................................119Tower International .................................................................................................................................................. 124TRW Automotive ...................................................................................................................................................... 133WABCO ...................................................................................................................................................................... 141ZF ............................................................................................................................................................................... 150

FiguresFigure 1: Conventional suspension compromises (Body acceleration vs. Wheel load variation) ........................ 5Figure 2: The extended performance envelope for fully active suspension compared to conventional passive and semi-active systems .............................................................................................................................................. 6Figure 3: Electrical power requirements for NEDC and actual customer requirements for various vehicle classes ............................................................................................................................................................................. 9Figure 4: Additional functionality requires higher voltages – 48 volts .................................................................. 10Figure 5: Conventional suspension compromises ................................................................................................... 10Figure 6: The growth of integrated functions ............................................................................................................ 11Figure 7: BWI’s active stabiliser bar system .............................................................................................................. 12Figure 8: BMW’s Dynamic Drive system .................................................................................................................... 12Figure 9: Additional costs entailed by tougher European CO2 legislation for a vehicle with emissions of 161g per km ........................................................................................................................................................................... 14Figure 10: CO2 (g/km) performance and standards in the EU new cars 1994–2011 ............................................. 14Figure 11: The effect of alternative German proposals for CO2 reduction regulation for Europe ...................... 15Figure 12: US targets for future GHG reductions (% reduction from 2005 levels)................................................ 16Figure 13: Global mandatory automobile efficiency and GHG standards ............................................................. 17Figure 14: Global passenger car and light vehicles emission legislation progress 2005–2025 .......................... 18Figure 15: Different weight and cost impact of increasingly lightweight material mixes .................................... 19Figure 16: Areas for chassis weight reduction .......................................................................................................... 20Figure 17: Aluminium potential and market penetration in Europe ....................................................................... 20Figure 18: Ford Focus control blade rear suspension ............................................................................................. 22Figure 19: AAM’s I-Ride suspension module ............................................................................................................ 22

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Figure 20: A schematic of active and semi-active suspension ............................................................................... 25Figure 21: A schematic showing the Mercedes-Benz Pre-Scan technology ........................................................ 27Figure 22: Mercedes Benz’s Pre-Scan technology .................................................................................................. 27Figure 23: ZF/ Levant Power’s GenShock technology ............................................................................................. 28Figure 24: Rigid axle suspension configurations ...................................................................................................... 29Figure 25: A Ford Mustang driven rigid rear axle ...................................................................................................... 29Figure 26: Semi-rigid axle suspension configurations ............................................................................................ 30Figure 27: Independent wheel suspension kinematic linkages ............................................................................. 31Figure 28: Independent suspension systems with 5, 4, 3, and 3 links .................................................................. 31Figure 29: Worldwide market share of front axle types in 2005 and 2010 ............................................................. 32Figure 30: Worldwide market share of rear axle types in 2005 and 2010 .............................................................. 33Figure 31: A Mercedes-Benz M-Class front axle ...................................................................................................... 34Figure 32: Coil over spring configurations ................................................................................................................ 35Figure 33: Spring supported by a lateral suspension arm ....................................................................................... 35Figure 34: Sogefi’s composite springs ....................................................................................................................... 36Figure 35: A Nivomat unit ............................................................................................................................................. 37Figure 36: Continental’s 4-Corner air suspension system ...................................................................................... 38Figure 37: Continental’s air suspension system ....................................................................................................... 38Figure 38: CO2 reduction through the use of pneumatic suspension systems .................................................... 40Figure 39: Bose’s fully electromechanical front suspension model ..................................................................... 41Figure 40: eABC schematic diagram ......................................................................................................................... 42Figure 41: Damping sprung and unsprung mass ...................................................................................................... 43Figure 42: Acceleration sensitive damping ............................................................................................................... 44Figure 43: Audi RS5 chassis featuring dynamic ride control .................................................................................. 45Figure 44: Suspension motion sensors ...................................................................................................................... 46Figure 45: A schematic of Tenneco’s Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension ...................................... 48Figure 46: A schematic of Tenneco’s integrated Kinetic H2 CES system.............................................................. 48Figure 47: Comparison between standard and pre-loaded valve performance ................................................... 49Figure 48: CDC dampers with internal and external valves .................................................................................... 49Figure 49: Graph showing the range in which CDC can continuously vary damping forces in compression and rebound ................................................................................................................................................................. 50Figure 50: Cross section of a MagneRide actuator ................................................................................................. 51Figure 51: The principal behind magneto-rheological fluid dampers .................................................................... 52Figure 52: Comparison of force-velocity characteristics of a MagneRide damper, typical variable valve dampers and a passive damper .................................................................................................................................. 53Figure 53: ZF Sach’s Active Roll Stabilisation system ............................................................................................. 55Figure 54: Active stabiliser bar system schematic ................................................................................................... 56Figure 55: Axle and multi-axle computer simulation ............................................................................................... 58Figure 56: System configuration and sensor positions required for the skyhook strategy. ............................... 60Figure 57: Skyhook strategy for variable dampers ................................................................................................... 61

TablesTable 1: Weight reduction in lightweight shock absorber assemblies ................................................................... 20Table 2: Advantages and disadvantages of electromechanical springs ............................................................... 43

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Key market driversTechnology developments in the vehicle dynamics element of suspension systems continue to be driven by the same two elements that designers and engineers have always wrestled with; the luxury of ride comfort and the safety and driving pleasure of good road holding.

Today, however, fuel efficiency is bringing an increasing importance to any contribution that suspension technology can make from reduced energy consumption in active and semi-active systems to weight reduction.

Three key considerations are contributing fundamentally to suspension system development:

• Improving vehicle efficiency through reduced CO2 output;

• The increasing ability to use suspension systems as differentiators in the quest for improved ride and handling characteristics; and

• the reduction in system costs needed to bring benefits to lower vehicle segments as well as premium vehicles.

Key considerations for these market drivers include:

• The increasing availability and use of electrical power and the plethora of innovations that come from these technology developments;

• Increasingly stringent CO2 output regulation and the penalties that accrue to OEMs for not meeting these requirements; and

• changes in materials that bring about critical weight savings, which deliver both ride and handling benefits as well as CO2 output benefits through weight saving

Increasing degrees of electrificationPower consumption is critical to fuel economy, and this is the single most important driver for vehicle technology as a whole today. Figure 3 illustrates this issue and shows that today’s luxury vehicles consume some 4.5kW of electrical power, and the steering system power consumption is therefore critical. Furthermore, as illustrated in Figure 4, from BMW, using the European market as an example, actual power requirements based on customer use somewhat outstrip those required to satisfy the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) test regime.

Inevitably, as more electrification becomes the norm on vehicles, electrical energy becomes increasingly valuable, and at the extreme, suspension systems must be failsafe without needing to resort to alternative power sources.

The prospect for fully active suspension is thought to be questionable due to high power demand as illustrated by the comments above from Prof. Dr. Marcus Jautze. However the rapid development of hybrid and EV architectures brings with it the availability of high power electromechanical systems and a number of the OEMs, particularly in Europe, opting for a 48-volt standard.

The automotive industry moved from a 6V supply to a 12V supply over 30 years ago, a change that required massive investment at the time. Then, starting in the mid-1990s, the auto industry began considering a change to 42-volts, and created a formal consortium, headquartered at MIT to help implement the standard. However, the effort did not gain sufficient market traction for a number of reasons, including cost and technical feasibility, as well as the development of solutions within the existing 12-volt standard architecture.

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Figure 3: Electrical power requirements for NEDC and actual customer requirements for various vehicle classes

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In June 2011, BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche released a joint statement on their agreement to implement a number of common architectural elements for their on-board power network: an additional 48-volt subnet; a charging connector type for all plug-in vehicles (i.e., Combined Charging System), and CAN bus interfaces supporting partial network operation.

The 48-volt on-board power-net would supplement the 12-volt net for high-power applications such as electric power steering (EPS), brake-by-wire and HVAC systems.

At the time the group of five OEMs noted that implementing functions and devices requiring high-current loads in a 12-volt supply network is becoming increasingly difficult in terms of both technology and cost.

As more high-power devices are being added to vehicles, it becomes increasingly difficult to drive these functions out of a 12-volt architecture, both from a technical and economic point of view. This is why BMW and other major car manufacturers decided to add a second system of 48-volts into future car models to supplement the existing architecture. “This will facilitate easy and cost-efficient integration of high-power components in the future and will enable new innovative functions”, said Giuseppe Mascolino, BMW, head of E/E architecture, system functions, software development, and e-mobility.

The 48-volt and 12-volt subnets are to be connected through a bi-directional DC/DC converter, enabling the easier integration of high-current devices into vehicles at lower cost and with improved quality.

“Energy recuperation is the key to ground-breaking solutions that the motorist can afford and this has caused the industry to re-visit the previously mooted higher than 12-volts, but less than 60-volts, electrical architecture”, comments Nick Pascoe chief executive and chief technology officer at Controlled Power Technologies. “Mild electrification deploying a proposed 48-volt standard will be a major factor for enabling the required motor-generator efficiency and power levels.”

Pascoe says the industry has estimated the additional cost to the motorist to achieve the required 30% reduction in CO2 emissions at $1,500 for a family sized saloon. This is significantly less than the $7,500 US federal subsidy for electric vehicles; an on-cost that would seem to remain unavoidable unless there is a significant breakthrough to reduce battery cost.

“Automakers have a broad palette of hybrid technology options,” says Pascoe. “Some however are more expensive than

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SupplierBusiness The Advanced Automotive Suspension Systems Report · 2014-04-28 · Automotive SupplierBusiness | The Advanced Automotive Suspension Systems Report. Key market drivers