School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME)

Vehicle Design Performance

ME-492

Dr. Mian Ashfaq Ali

Introduction
Cornering behavior of a vehicle is an important performance mode often equated
with “HANDLING” which means responsiveness of a vehicle to driver input or ease
of control
The driver and vehicle is a closed loop system meaning that the driver observes the
vehicle direction or position and corrects his input to achieve the desired motion.
To characterize only the vehicle “Open-loop” behavior is used .
Open loop refers to vehicle response to specific steering inputs and is defined as “
Directional Response” behavior.
The most commonly used measure of open-loop response is the understeer
gradient which is a measure of performance under steady state conditions (also for
quasi-steady-state conditions)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0u7JnjEjuQ Understeer Slow Motion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKuhNM5Q9Mg Race Accidents

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5xn36CHkN0 Over Steering by expert drivers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shwgNV36xFA&t=57s Understeer Gradient
Testing
Low Speed Turning
At low speed (Parking lot maneuvers) tires don’t develop lateral forces and roll with no slip
angle.
If the rear wheels have no slip angle the turn must lie on the projection of the rear axle.
Perpendicular from each of front wheel should pass through same point otherwise the front
tires will fight each other in the turn.
For proper geometry in the turn the steer angles are given by :
𝐿
𝛿𝑜 ≅
(𝑅 + 𝑡ൗ2)
𝐿
𝛿𝑖 ≅
(𝑅 − 𝑡ൗ2)
The average angle of the front wheel is defined as Ackerman Angle.
High Speed Cornering

At High speed, the turning equations differ because lateral

acceleration will be present.
To counteract the lateral acceleration the tires must develop
lateral forces
Slip angles will be present at each wheel.
Tire Cornering Forces
Under cornering conditions, the tire must develop a lateral force
Tire will also experience lateral slip as it rolls.
The angle between direction of heading and direction of travel is known as Slip Angle 𝛼

𝑭𝒚 = 𝑪𝜶 𝜶
𝑭𝒚 = 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆
𝑪𝜶 = 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒏𝒆𝒔
A positive slip angle produces a negative force on the tire so 𝐶𝛼 must be negative
Cornering stiffness is dependent on many variables. Tire size and type, number of plies,
cord angles, wheel width and tread are significant variables
The load and inflation pressure are main variables.
Variables Effecting Tire cornering Stiffness
Tire Cornering Forces

Cornering force has strong dependence on load.

Cornering Coefficient is given by:

𝐶𝐶𝛼 = 𝐶𝛼ൗ𝐹𝑧

Cornering coefficient is usually largest at light loads and diminishing

continuously as the load reaches its rated value
At 100% load the cornering effect is typically in the range of 0.2 (lb
cornering force per lb load per degree of slip angle)
Cornering equations
The steady-state cornering equations are derived from application of
newton’s second law along with the equation describing the geometry in
turns.
At high speeds the radius of turn is much larger than wheelbase of the
vehicle.
For convenience the two front wheels can be represented by one wheel at a
steer angle 𝛿 with a cornering force equivalent to both wheels.
For a vehicle traveling in forward with a speed of V
σ 𝐹𝑦 = 𝐹𝑦𝑓 + 𝐹𝑦𝑟 = 𝑀𝑉 2 /𝑅

𝐹𝑦𝑓 = Lateral force at the front axle

𝐹𝑦𝑟 = Lateral force at the rear axle
M= Forward velocity
R = Radius of the turn
Cornering Equations
σ 𝐹𝑦 = 𝐹𝑦𝑓 + 𝐹𝑦𝑟 = 𝑀𝑉 2 /𝑅
Understeer Gradient
𝐿 𝑊𝑓 𝑊𝑟 𝑉 2
𝛿 = 57.3 + −
𝑅 𝐶𝛼𝑓 𝐶𝛼𝑟 𝑔𝑅
This equation is often written in a shorthand form as follows:
𝐿
𝛿 = 57.3 + 𝐾𝑎𝑦
𝑅
Where:
K = Understeer gradient
𝑎𝑦 = Lateral acceleration
This equation describes how the steer angle of the vehicle must be changed with
radius of turn R or the lateral acceleration.
The ratio of load on the axle to cornering stiffness of the tires on the axle is called
Understeer gradient
There are three main possibilities of understeer gradient
Understeer Gradient
Neutral Steer:
This responds to a balance on the vehicle such that the force of the lateral acceleration at the
CG causes an identical increase in slip angle at both front and rear wheels.

Understeer:
In this case the lateral acceleration at the CG causes the front wheels to slip sideways to a
greater extent than at the rear wheels. Thus, to develop the lateral force at the front wheels
necessary to maintain the radius of the turn, the front wheels must be steered to a greater
extent than at the rear wheels.

Oversteer:
In oversteer case the lateral acceleration at the CG causes the slip angle on the rear wheels to
increase more than at the front. The outward drift at the rear of the vehicle turns front wheels
inward, thus diminishing the radius of the turn.
Characteristic speed

For an understeer vehicle the understeer level may be quantified by a

parameter known as the characteristic speed. It is simply the speed at
which the steer angle required to negotiate any turn is twice the
Ackerman angle.

𝑉𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟 = 57.3 𝑙 𝑔/𝐾

Critical Speed

In the oversteer case, a critical speed will exist above which the vehicle will
be unstable. The critical speed is given by :

𝑉𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡 = −57.3 𝐿 𝑔/𝐾

Critical speed is dependent on the wheelbase of the vehicle; for a given level
of oversteer, long-wheelbase vehicle have a higher critical speed than short
wheelbase vehicles.

An oversteer vehicle can be driven at the speeds less than the critical but
becomes directionally unstable at the and above the critical speed
Lateral acceleration gain

The purpose of steering a vehicle is to produce a lateral acceleration and the

turning equation can be used to examine performance from this perspective

It is given by :

𝑉 2ൗ
𝑎𝑦 57.3 𝐿 𝑔
= 2
𝛿 1 + 𝐾𝑉 ൗ57.3 𝐿 𝑔

The lateral acceleration gain is determined only by the numerator and is

directly proportional to speed squared.

K is zero for neutral steer

K is positive for understeer

K is negative for oversteer

Yaw Velocity Gain
A second reason for a steering a vehicle is to change
the heading angle by developing a yaw velocity/ yaw
rate. It is given by relation :
𝑟 = 57.3 𝑉/𝑅
Solving this equation for the ratio of yaw velocity to
steering angle produces:
𝑉
𝑟 𝐿
=
𝛿 𝐾𝑉 2
1+
57.3𝐿𝑔
The ratio represents the gain which is proportional to
velocity incase of neutral steer vehicle
In oversteer case the yaw velocity gain becomes
infinite when the speed reaches the critical speed
In understeer case the yaw velocity increase with
speed up to the characteristic speed and begin to
decrease thereafter
Sideslip Angle

When lateral acceleration is negligible the rear wheel tracks inboard of the
front wheel, but as lateral acceleration increases the rear of the vehicle must
drift outboard to develop the necessary slip angles on the rear tires.

Sideslip angle may be defined as angle between the longitudinal axis and the
local direction of travel. It will be different at every point on a car during
cornering

Sideslip angle on a low-speed turn Sideslip angle at highspeed turn

Sideslip Angle

The sideslip angle will be positive when direction of travel or local

velocity vector is oriented clockwise from the longitudinal axis.

At high speed the slip angle on the rear wheels causes the sideslip

angle at the CG to become negative.

For any speed sideslip angle 𝛽 at the CG will be :

𝑐 𝑊𝑟 𝑉 2
𝛽 = 57.3 −
𝑅 𝐶𝛼𝑟 𝑔𝑅

Note that the speed at which the sideslip angle become zero is :

𝑉𝛽 = 0 = 57.3𝑔𝑐(𝐶𝛼𝑟 /𝑊𝑟 )

and is independent of the radius of turn

Static Margin
It is determined by the point on the vehicle where a side force
will produce no steady-state yaw velocity.

The static margin is defined as the distance the neutral steer

point falls behind the CG, normalized by the wheelbase. That is:
𝑒
𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛 =
𝐿
Static Margin
𝑒
𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛 =
𝐿
Olley’s Definition of Understeer/Oversteer
The turning behavior is dependent on the ratio of load/cornering coefficient on the front
and rear axles. This ratio is known as “cornering compliance”.

Although the understeer gradient was derived for the case of a vehicle in a turn, it can be
shown that the gradient determines vehicle response to disturbances in straight-ahead
driving.

Rocard analysis demonstrates that oversteer vehicle have a stability limit at critical speed
due to normal disturbances in straight-ahead travel.

When the front axle is more compliant than the rear (understeer) a lateral disturbance
produce more sideslip at the front axle; hence, the vehicle turns away from disturbance.
This is illustrated in Olley’s definitions for under and oversteer
Roll moment distribution-Suspension Effect

For all pneumatic tires, the cornering forces

are dependent on (nonlinear) with load. This
is important because load is transferred in
the lateral direction in cornering due to
elevation of vehicle CG above the ground
plane.
For a vehicle at 800lb load on each wheel,
about 760 lb of lateral force will be
developed by each wheel at the 5-degree
slip angle.
In hard cornering the loads might typically
change to 400 lb on the inside wheel and
1200 lb on the outside. Then the average
lateral force from both tires will be reduced
to about 680 lb
Roll moment distribution

All suspensions are functionally equivalent to two

springs. The lateral separation of the springs causes
them to develop a roll resisting moment
proportional to the difference in roll angle between
the body and axle.

The stiffness is given by :

𝐾∅ = 0.5𝐾𝑠 𝑆 2

where:

𝐾∅ = 𝑅𝑂𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝐾𝑠 =
𝑉𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔

𝑆 = 𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠

Roll moment distribution

By writing newton’s second law for moments on the axle we can

determine the relationship between wheel loads and the lateral
force and roll angle

The body roll acting through the springs impose a torque on the
axle proportional to the roll stiffness 𝐾∅ times the roll angle ∅.

This results in an equation for the roll difference from side to side
of the form:

𝐹𝑦 ℎ𝑟 ∅
𝐹𝑧𝑜 − 𝐹𝑧𝑖 = 2. + 2𝐾∅ = 2∆𝐹𝑧
𝑡 𝑡
Note that lateral load transfer arises form 2 mechanisms:

𝐹𝑦 ℎ𝑟
1) 2. 𝑡
− Lateral load transfer due to cornering forces

𝐹𝑦 ℎ𝑟
2) 2. 𝑡
− Lateral load transfer due to vehicle roll.
Roll moment distribution
The moment about the roll axis is:
𝑀∅ = (𝑊ℎ1 sin ∅ + 𝑊𝑉 2 /(𝑅𝑔)ℎ1 cos ∅) cos 𝜀

For small angles, cos ∅ and cos 𝜀 we may assume as

unity and sin∅ = ∅

Solving the equation for roll angle yields:

𝑊ℎ1 𝑉 2 /(𝑅𝑔)
∅=
𝐾∅𝑓 + 𝐾∅𝑟 − 𝑊ℎ1

The derivative of this expression with respect to

lateral acceleration produces an expression for the
roll rate of the vehicle :

The roll rate is usually in the range of 3 to 7

degrees/g on typical passenger cars.
Roll moment distribution
With the help of roll moment distribution we can calculate the difference in load
between the left and right wheels on the axle.

The term number 1 inside the brackets is simply the understeer gradient arising from
the nominal stiffness of the tires , 𝐾𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠 as was developed earlier
The Second term represents the understeer gradient arising from the lateral load
transfer on the tires.
The contribution from the front axle is always understeer
The contribution from rear axle is always negative meaning it is an oversteer effect.
Camber change
The inclination of the wheel outward from
the body is known as camber angle.
Camber on a wheel will produce a lateral
force known as camber thrust
The typical camber thrust curve is given as
Camber angle produces much less lateral
forces than slip angle.
About 4-6 degrees of camber are required
to produce the same lateral force as 1
degree of slip angle on a bias-ply tire.
10-15 degrees more are required on a
radial tire than a bias-ply one.
Camber change

The total camber angle during cornering will be :

𝛾𝑔 = 𝛾𝑏 + ∅ ( g = ground, b = body and ∅ = 𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒)
The camber arising from the suspension is a function of the roll angle
because the jounce on the inside wheel and the rebound on the
outside wheel relate directly to roll angle.
The understeer driving from the camber angles on each axle is given
by:
𝐶𝛾𝑓 . 𝜕𝛾𝑓 𝐶𝛾𝑟 . 𝜕𝛾𝑟 𝜕∅
𝐾𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 = −
𝐶𝛼𝑓 . 𝜕∅ 𝐶𝛼𝑟 . 𝜕∅ 𝜕𝛼𝑦
Roll steer
When a vehicle rolls in cornering the suspension kinematics may
be such that wheels steer.
Roll steer is defined as the steering motion of the front or rear
wheels with respect to the sprung mass that is due to the rolling
motion of the sprung mass.
Let 𝜀 be the roll steer coefficient on an axle then roll steer will be:
𝜕∅
𝐾𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑟 = (𝜀𝑓 − 𝜀𝑟 )
𝜕𝛼𝑦
A positive roll steer coefficient causes the wheels to steer to the
right in a right-hand roll. Inasmuch as a right-handroll occurs when
a vehicle is turning to the left, it is understeer.
Conversely, positive roll steer on the rear axle is oversteer.
On a solid axles the suspension will allow the axle to roll about an
imaginary axis which may be inclined (𝛽) with respect to the
longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
Roll steer
If the initial orientation of a rear axle trailing arm is
angled downward the effect of the trailing arm angle
change is to pull the inside wheel forward while
pushing outside wheel rearward. This produces roll
steer of the solid axle contribution to oversteer.
The roll steer coefficient is equal to the inclination
angle 𝜀 = 𝛽
Lateral force compliance steer
With the soft bushings used in suspension
linkages for NVH reasons, there is a
possibility of steer arising from lateral
compliance in the suspension.
With simple solid axle, compliance steer
represented as rotation about a yaw center.
With a forward yaw center on a rear axle the
compliance allows the axle to steer toward
the outside of the turn causing oversteer.
Lateral force compliance steer

A rearward yaw result in understeer.

On front axle just the opposite true rearward yaw
center is oversteer and a forward yaw center is
understeer.
Since the understeer effect is directly related to the
steer angles produced on the front and rear axles,
the understeer arising from lateral force
compliance steer is :
𝐾1𝑓𝑐𝑠 = 𝐴𝑓 𝑊𝑓 − 𝐴𝑟 𝑊𝑟
Aligning Torque
The aligning torque experienced by the tires on a vehicle
always resists the attempted turn, thus it is the source of an
understeer effect
Aligning torque is the manifestation of the fact that the
lateral forces are developed by a tire at a point behind the
tire center. The distance is known as the “pneumatic trail
(p)”
The direct handling influence can be determined by deriving
the turning equations with the assumption that the lateral
forces are developed not at the wheels but at a distance “p”
behind each wheel.
The understeer term obtained is :
𝑃(𝐶𝛼𝑓 + 𝐶𝛼𝑟 )
𝐾𝑎𝑡 = 𝑊
𝐿𝐶𝛼𝑓 𝐶𝛼𝑟
Because 𝐶𝛼 values are positive the aligning torque effect is
positive (understeer) and cannot be negative (Oversteer)
Effect of tractive forces on cornering

T h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f n e w t o n ’s
second law in lateral direction
takes the form :
Effect of tractive forces
on cornering
The final turning equation for the case where tractive forces are taken
into account will be :

Term 1 is the Ackerman steer angle altered by tractive force on the front
axle
Positive front axle force means less requirement if steer angle
On a wheel spin 𝐶𝛼𝑓 goes to zero, that means turn of zero radius can
be made by virtually no steer angle
Term 2 is the understeer gradient in an unchanged form
Term 3 represents the effect of tractive forces on the understeer
behavior of the vehicle
Summary of understeer effects
Experimental measurements of understeer gradient

The quantity obtained by subtracting the Ackerman angle gradient

from the ratio of the steering wheel angle gradient to the overall
steering ratio.

All experimental methods are based on equation :

57.3𝐿
𝛿= + 𝐾𝑎𝑦
𝑅
The derivation of this equation assumes the vehicle to be in a steady-
state operating condition therefore, understeer is defined as a steady-
state property.
Constant radius method

Understeer can be measured by operating the vehicle around a constant radius

turn and observing steering angle verses lateral acceleration.

This method closely replicates vehicle operation in many highway situations,

such as the constant radius turns in off ramps from limited access highways.

The recommended procedure is to drive the vehicle around the circle at very
low speed, for which the lateral acceleration is negligible, and note the steer
angle required to maintain the turn.

The steer angle is plotted as a function of lateral acceleration as:

𝜕𝛿 𝜕 𝐿 𝜕𝑎𝑦
= (57.3 ) +𝐾
𝜕𝑎𝑦 𝜕𝑎𝑦 𝑅 𝜕𝑎𝑦
Constant radius method
The slope of the steer angle curve is the understeer gradient.

A slope positive slope indicates understeer, zero slope is neutral steer,

and a negative slope is oversteer.

Some vehicles will be understeer over the entire operating range, others
may be understeer at low lateral acceleration levels but change to
oversteer at high lateral acceleration.

The constant radius method has the advantage that minimal

instrumentation is required but has the disadvantage that it is difficult to
execute in an objective fashion.
Constant speed method

Understeer can be measured at constant speed by varying the steer

angle.

Measurements by this method closely duplicate many real driving

situations since vehicles are normally driven near constant speed.

Radius of turn will vary continuously by this method.

Radius of turn can be found by relation :

𝑉2 𝑉
𝑅= =
𝑎𝑦 𝑟

The Ackerman steer angle gradient can be obtained by:

𝐿
𝛿 = 57.3 + 𝐾𝑎𝑦 = 57.3𝐿𝑎𝑦 /𝑉 2 + 𝐾𝑎𝑦
𝑅

The expression for understeer gradient is given by :

𝜕𝛿 𝜕 𝐿
𝐾= − (57.3 2 )
𝜕𝑎𝑦 𝜕𝑎𝑦 𝑉
Constant speed method

Since the speed and wheelbase are constant, the Ackerman steer angle gradient is a
straight line of constant slope and appears in a data plot shown;

The Ackerman steer angle gradient is neutral steer.

In regions where the steer angle gradient is greater than that of the Ackerman, the
vehicle is understeer.

The point where the slope of the steer angle curve is zero is the stability boundary
corresponding to the critical speed.