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2019/20 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

MECH5185M Automotive Chassis Engineering

15 creditsClass Size: 100

Module manager: Professor David C Barton
Email: D.C.Barton@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2019/20

Pre-requisite qualifications

Students enrolling on this module should have a good understanding of basic solid mechanics, including construction of free body diagrams, application of Newton’s laws of motion and simple stress analysis such as bending of beams. It would also be highly advantageous if they had previously studied mechanical vibration theory including multi degree–of-freedom systems, transmissibility, modal analysis etc.

Pre-requisites

MECH2610Engineering Mechanics
MECH2620Vibration and Control

This module is not approved as an Elective

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- describe the components and systems which are associated with a vehicle chassis structure;
- apply the principles of engineering science to the design and analysis of suspension and steering systems together with their components;
- state the fundamentals of acoustics and be able to apply these to the analysis and solution of chassis borne noise and vibration phenomena;
- categorise the various designs of chassis structure;
- illustrate the differences in chassis performance through application of appropriate analysis techniques.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of the main types of suspension systems used in automotive chassis engineering and how these affect vehicle performance.
2. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of steering systems used in automotive vehicles and of the important parameters associated with these systems
3. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of the different types of structures and materials used in automotive vehicles including consideration of safety under impact and long-term durability
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the important sources of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) in automotive vehicles and be able to compare and apply different techniques to mitigate NVH issues
5. Demonstrate the ability to access a variety of sources in order to gain an in-depth knowledge of some important aspect of automotive chassis engineering not covered in the lecture course
6. Demonstrate the ability to reverse engineer the important parameters of a vehicle chassis from a limited and incomplete data set and to draw conclusions about the expected performance of the vehicle.

Upon successful completion of this module the following UK-SPEC learning outcome descriptors are satisfied:

A comprehensive understanding of the relevant scientific principles of the specialisation (SM1m, SM7M)
Knowledge and understanding of mathematical and statistical methods necessary to underpin their education in their engineering discipline and to enable them to apply a range of mathematical and statistical methods, tools and notations proficiently and critically in the analysis and solution of engineering problems (SM2m)
A comprehensive knowledge and understanding of mathematical and computational models relevant to the engineering discipline, and an appreciation of their limitations (SM5m)
A critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights most of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of the specialisation (SM8M)
Understanding of engineering principles and the ability to apply them to undertake critical analysis of key engineering processes (EA1m)
Ability to identify, classify and describe the performance of systems and components through the use of analytical methods and modelling techniques (EA2)
Ability both to apply appropriate engineering analysis methods for solving complex problems in engineering and to assess their limitations (EA6M)
Understand and evaluate business, customer and user needs, including considerations such as the wider engineering context, public perception and aesthetics (D1)
Investigate and define the problem, identifying any constraints including environmental and sustainability limitations; ethical, health, safety, security and risk issues; intellectual property; codes of practice and standards (D2)
Apply advanced problem-solving skills, technical knowledge and understanding, to establish rigorous and creative solutions that are fit for purpose for all aspects of the problem including production, operation, maintenance and disposal (D4)
Awareness that engineers need to take account of the commercial and social contexts in which they operate (EL9M)
Advanced level knowledge and understanding of a wide range of engineering materials and components (P2m, P12M)
Understanding of the use of technical literature and other information sources (P4)
Understanding of appropriate codes of practice and industry standards (P6)

Ability to work with technical uncertainty (P8)
Understanding of different roles within an engineering team and the ability to exercise initiative and personal responsibility, which may be as a team member or leader (P11m)
Apply their skills in problem solving, communication, information retrieval, working with others and the effective use of general IT facilities (G1)

Skills outcomes
On completion of this module students will have acquired the following skills:
- analytical
- problem solving
- mathematical derivations
- solutions related to automotive chassis systems.


Syllabus

Suspension systems and components: Introduction to vehicle suspensions, suspension types, suspension components and their charactyeristics, design and selection springs, anti roll bars, dampers, bushes, kinematic and force analysis, antisquat and antidive geometries and vehicle ride quality analysis.

Steering systems: review of designs, system geometry and kinematics, bump, roll and compliance steer, forces-stationary and moving vehicles, four wheel steer.

Noise Vibration harshness (NVH): fundamentals of acoustics, subjective response to noise, automotive vibration-sources, modelling and control, automotive noise-sources, criteria and control.

Chassis structure: review of vehicle structures, analysis of car body structures, safety under impact.

Teaching methods

Delivery typeNumberLength hoursStudent hours
Example Class31.003.00
Class tests, exams and assessment12.002.00
Lecture301.0030.00
Private study hours115.00
Total Contact hours35.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)150.00

Private study

Students should read / revise before / following lectures, complete the examples sheets.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Formal formative feedback will be provided for the two assignments, with further informal feedback through examples sheets and tutorials.

Methods of assessment


Coursework
Assessment typeNotes% of formal assessment
ReportReview Report20.00
ReportAnalytical Team Report20.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)40.00

1) Coursework marks carried forward and 60% resit exam OR 2) 100% exam


Exams
Exam typeExam duration% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)2 hr 00 mins60.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)60.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 30/04/2019

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