Road vehicle model with hysteretic suspension

The article aims to study the impact of hysteretic effects on the vertical oscillation of the vehicle, during its motion on the uneven track. We utilized the simplified half-car model with suspension possessing hysteretic stiffness that was defined using the multilinear model of hysteresis. The resulting system of equations was then solved numerically in the MATLAB environment. We considered two shapes of hysteretic loops and compared the obtained results with the solution of a simple model with linear stiffness. The results show that hysteresis significantly influences the behavior of the treated vehicle. Besides the changes in stiffness, it also introduces additional energy dissipation characterized mostly by increased damping. This presents potentially beneficial effects, mainly in terms of passenger comfort.