Simulation tools, modelling and identification, for an automotive shock absorber in the context of vehicle dynamics

For purpose of simulation of vehicle dynamics, a physical model of an autom otive shock absorber has been developed and implemented in several software packages for multibody simulations. In the present paper, the damper model structure is shortly elaborated together with some measurement and estimat ion techniques to retrieve the model parameters, possibly from dynamometer measurements only. These techniques are illustrated on a shock absorber nor mally used on the front suspension of a BMW series 7.