Analysis of Compressive Forces in Suspension System

[gavin1983]

I am doing some analysis on a suspension system. The suspension system is braced on a metal rig. Force is applied to it by manually pumping up a bottle jack. The ram of the jack pushes a compression plate onto the bottom of the tyre carcass.
In order to measure the vertical force input I have placed a load cell between the tyre carcass and the compression plate. Am I correct in thinking that the output from the load cell will not be the exact force I am applying with the bottle jack. Does the compression of the tyre use up some of the force exerted? Is there any mathematical relationship that can be applied to this scenario?
Any help would be greatly apreciated!

 

[brewnog]

Nope, the forces will balance out as long as you're applying a static load.

Force will not be 'used up' by the compression of the tyre, - think of it as squashing a spring.