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An exploratory concept for a chassis suspension system for improving the operator ride comfort of an agricultural tractor is presented in this paper. The first section of the paper describes the criteria and concepts that have been incorporated into the design of a hybrid leading and trailing arm chassis suspension system. The second section of the paper discusses the evaluation of this suspension system and its parameters by simulating nine (9) different tractor and nine (9) different tractor-plow models, derived from the various combination of suspension configurations and operator cab locations. A generalized mechanical system simulation program is utilized to predict the dynamic linear transfer function behavior of each vehicle model. With frequency domain analysis techniques and the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm, the dynamic vehicle response to the ISO 5007 Smooth Track excitation is computed.

European and American suspension systems are described for improving the operator ride comfort on off-road vehicles. Analytical methods are then described to predict the dynamic behavior of a vehicle and human ride response criteria. The approach includes the selection of a terrain input to excite the vehicle model formulated by the generalized mechanical system simulation programs. An example involving an agricultural tractor-plow system is presented to illustrate the techniques.