Ride comfort analysis and optimization of a hydro-pneumatic suspension system for a mining dump truck

Mining dump truck is an important carrier used for short-distance round-trip transportation of ore and other materials in open-pit mines. This paper takes XDR80t mining dump truck produced by XCMG as the research object. The integrated virtual prototype model of hydro-pneumatic suspension mechanical and hydraulic systems is established by ADAMS and AMESim. The co-simulation environment is carried out to realize the virtual prototype modeling and simulation. Using the wheel and chassis centroid acceleration data collected at the site, a method based on frequency domain integration is proposed to calculate the displacement data which is used as the model input. Comparing the simulation test results with the field test results, both the errors of the suspension cylinder dynamic stroke and the body vertical acceleration root mean square (RMS) values are around 5%. The dynamic response of the vehicle body under typical road excitation at different vehicle speeds is analyzed by co-simulation. For low-speed obstacle crossings at 10 or 20 km/h, the original suspension system with only non-rod chamber interconnections system is able to ensure the ride comfort of the vehicle. While the speed is increased to 25 or 30 km/h, there will be a certain failure of the interconnecting suspension because of the poor fluid circulation condition, and the body vibration will be seriously aggravated. Therefore, the rod chamber of the cylinder is connected to guarantee the smooth flow of oil. The peak value of acceleration is reduced from 39.55 to 24.74 m/s2 at high speed, when the suspension was changed from a form with only non-rod chambers interconnected to both rod and non-rod chambers interconnected. When driving on random road, the RMS value of acceleration decreased by about 21.9%. This improved interconnected hydraulic system can effectively improve the ride comfort of the mining dump truck.