Case Study: Hendrickson Trailer Commercial Vehicle Systems simulates new suspension designs in hours with MSC Software Adams

New Trailer Suspension Designs Tested in Hours Compared to Days or Weeks

Hendrickson Trailer Commercial Vehicle Systems designs heavy duty trailer suspensions that must balance cargo protection, usable life, and economical manufacturing. The company needed a faster way to evaluate many trailer configurations and operating events, since physical testing of instrumented prototypes was time-consuming and expensive.

Using MSC Software’s Adams, Hendrickson built virtual suspension models from Creo CAD geometry and flexible body data to simulate trailer configurations and events such as city turns, obstacles, and reverse jack knifing. The models typically ran in less than five minutes, and Hendrickson said it could simulate a new suspension in a matter of hours instead of the days or weeks required for physical testing, while matching tire loads and component forces very closely. This let the company test more configurations, reduce prototype and testing time, and bring products to market faster while lowering development expenses.

Hendrickson Trailer Commercial Vehicle Systems

James Patterson

Principal Vehical Systems Engineer