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HANDLING CHARACTERISTICS OF
ROAD VEHICLES
Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab
MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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Handling Characteristics

 The handling characteristics of a road vehicle refer to its response to steering

commands and to environmental inputs, such as wind and road disturbances, that
affect its direction of motion.

 There are two basic issues in vehicle handling:

1. The control of the direction of motion of the vehicle.

2. The ability to stabilize its direction of motion against external disturbances.

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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Handling Characteristics

 The vehicle as a rigid body has six degrees of freedom.

 The primary motions associated with the handling behavior of a

vehicle are longitudinal, lateral, and yaw motions.

 In practice, during a turning maneuver, the vehicle body rolls,

this roll motion may cause the wheels to steer, thus affecting the
handling behavior of the vehicle.

 Furthermore, bounce and pitch motions of the vehicle body

may also affect the steering response of the vehicle.
Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab
MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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STEERING GEOMETRY

 At low speeds, there is a simple relation between the direction of motion of the
vehicle and the steering wheel angle.

 The prime consideration in the design of the steering system is minimum tire scrub
during cornering. This requires that during the turn, all tires should be in pure rolling
without lateral sliding.

 To satisfy this requirement, the wheels should follow curved paths with different radii
originating from a common turn center.

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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STEERING GEOMETRY

 This establishes the proper relationship between the steer angle of the inside front wheel

i, and that of the outside front wheel o

 where B and L are the track and wheelbase of the vehicle

 Ackermann steering geometry.

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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STEERING GEOMETRY

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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STEERING GEOMETRY
Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab
MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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STEERING
GEOMETRY

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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STEADY-STATE
HANDLING
CHARACTERISTICS

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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STEERING GEOMETRY

 The cornering forces on the front and

rear tires Fyf and Fyr can be determined
from the dynamic equilibrium of the
vehicle in the lateral direction.

 For small steer angles, the cornering

forces acting at the front and rear tires
are approximately given by:

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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STEERING GEOMETRY

 the cornering stiffness of a given tire varies with

a number of operational parameters, including
inflation pressure, normal load, tractive (or
braking) effort, and lateral force. It may be
regarded as a constant only within a limited
range of operating conditions.

 where Kus is usually referred to as the

understeer coefficient and is expressed in
radians, and ay is the lateral acceleration.
Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab
MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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Neutral Steer

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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Understeer

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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Oversteer

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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Comparison

Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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Comparison
Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab
MEA 313 Automotive Theory
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Dr. Mohamed Abdelwahab

MEA 313 Automotive Theory