In this study, a layout was designed to adjust the location of the LPG fuel tank by combining a Z-Spring and an Airbag in an LPG 1-ton truck air suspension assembly, and a structural analysis based on the finite element method was performed considering the load conditions of extreme situations based on the weight taken into account. The study was performed under a total load condition of 2.1 tons per axle with a safety factor of 2, and it was confirmed that the maximum stress value occurring in each part is within the yield strength value of the material. Through these results, it was confirmed that the designed LPG 1-ton truck air suspension assembly is a system with secured structural stability.

This study investigated characteristics of buckling load and effective buckling length by member rigidity of dome-typed space frame which was sensitive to initial conditions. A critical point and a buckling load were computed by analyzing the eigenvalues and determinants of the tangential stiffness matrix. The hexagonal pyramid model and star dome were selected for the case study in order to examine the nodal buckling and member buckling in accordance with member rigidity. From the numerical results, an effective buckling length factor of adopted models was bigger than that of Euler buckling for the case of fixed boundary. These numerical models indicated that the influence of nodal buckling was greater than that of member buckling as member rigidity was higher. Besides, there was a tendency that the bifurcation appeared on the equilibrium path before limit point in the member buckling model.