PAMM · Proc. Appl. Math. Mech. 10, 57 – 58 (2010) / DOI 10.1002/pamm.

201010021

Modelling and Parameter Identification of a Formula Student Car

Werner Schiehlen1 , Christoph Tobias1,∗ , and Marc Wewel1
1
Institute of Engineering and Computational Mechanics, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

A modelling approach is described using the modules vehicle body, front axle and rear axle. All these modules are virtually
assembled by CAD software and Simpack, a commercial multibody dynamics tool. The geometrical data are found from the
CAD model while the mechanical data for the entire vehicle are evaluated by parameter identification based on mechanical
principles. In detail, the static measurement and error analysis of the center of mass is explained as well as the dynamic tests
to identify the moments of inertia of the car. Further, spring and damper characteristics are identified.
c 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

1 Introduction
Formula Student is for students to conceive, design and fabricate small formula style racing cars, and it attracts entries from
universities all over the world. For the universities, Formula Student [1] represents a valuable project that blends academic
work and learning with the development of practical engineering skills. The annual Formula Student cars are judged by
industry specialists to check their performance. It is not simply the fastest car that wins; students have to balance speed with
safety, reliability, cost and good handling qualities. The Rennteam of the University of Stuttgart developed the car F0711-4
which was very successful winning the German, Italian and British competition in 2009. For further improvement of the 2010
car a student project handled by Wewel [2] at the Institute of Engineering and Computational Mechanics was devoted to the
adaptation and application of multibody dynamics software to racing car dynamics simulation.

2 Modelling
The basis for modelling is the student car F0711-4 of the Rennteam [3] with a mass of 211 kg without driver, a power of
69 kW, an acceleration capability from 0 to 100 km/h of 3.7 sec and a maximum speed of 125 km/h. The suspension is
composed by double control arms where springs and dampers are attached to the car by pushrods. The modelling approach
uses the modules vehicle body, front axle and rear axle. All these modules are virtually assembled as shown by Popp and
Schiehlen [4].

Vehicle body

Front axle:
suspension,
spring−damper with
pushrods

Rear axle:
differential,
anti−roll bar with
coupling rod,
wheels

Fig. 1 Modules of student car F0711-4

As tire model Pacejka’s magic formula [5] is used due to its efficiency for vehicle dynamics simulations.
∗ Corresponding author E-mail: ctobias@itm.uni-stuttgart.de, Phone: +00 49 711 68566580, Fax: +00 49 711 68566400

c 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

58 Section 1: Multi-body Dynamics

3 Parameter Identification
All the geometrical data are obtained from CAD models of the car, and they are transferred to the commercial multibody
simulation tool Simpack [6]. The dynamical data of the position of the center of mass and the moments of inertia are identified
using the fundamental principles of mechanics. The longitudinal and lateral position of the center of mass is obtained by
measurement of the front and rear axle loads while the vertical position requires the information on the front axle load and the
vehicles inclination as shown in Figure 2. The moments of inertia are found from swinging tests on an especially designed test
rig, see Figure 3. Due to the high sensitivity to measurement errors a high number of swinging periods is required. The needle
bearings of the test equipment allow more than 100 periods for accurate mean values. Two series of tests are performed: swing
with respect to the longitudinal and lateral axis as shown in Figure 3, and swing around the vertical axis by a test rig with three
cables for suspension of the platform.

Fig. 2 Identification of mass center Fig. 3 Identification of lateral moment of inertia

The inertia data are identified for the car with driver as required for the vehicle dynamics simulations. The remaining data
with respect to spring stiffness, anti-roll bar and damper characteristics and tire parameters are obtained on commercial test
rigs or are provided by companies manufacturing these parts, respectively.

4 Simulation
One of the disciplines of Formula Student is the skidpad featuring the steady- 1.2
state cornering which has been used for simulations with the model devel- 1.1
oped, too. The characteristic of the steering behaviour is visualized by the
steering angle [ rad ]

1.0
diagram of steering angle over the lateral acceleration, see Figure 4. Impor-
tant design parameters for the steering behaviour are the stiffness of the front 0.9
and rear axle anti-roll bars. It turns out that all configurations up to 5 m/s2 0.8
front axle roll bar
show small understeering. For higher lateral accelerations a front axle anti-
0.7 without roll bar
roll bar results in strong understeering while the rear axle anti-roll bar results rear axle roll bar
in small oversteering. In addition, the maximum lateral acceleration is found 0.6
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
without any anti-roll bar. The peak in Figure 4 is due to the transition in the
lateral acceleration [ m /s²]
steady-state cornering.
Fig. 4 Steady-state cornering
5 Conclusions
For the modelling of racing cars CAD and MBS software can be used efficiently. However, the methods for parameter
identification are not standardized and have to be developed for the project under consideration based on mechanics know-
how.

References
[1] Formula Student, http://www.formulastudent.com/.
[2] M. Wewel, F0711-4: Modellierung, Parametrierung und Simulation (in German), STUD-318 (Institute of Engineering and Computa-
tional Mechanics, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2010).
[3] Rennteam Uni Stuttgart, http://www.rennteam-stuttgart.de/.
[4] K. Popp and W. Schiehlen, Ground Vehicle Dynamics (Springer, Berlin, 2010).
[5] H.B. Pacejka, Tyre and Vehicle Dynamics (Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2002).
[6] Simpack, http://www.simpack.com/.

c 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.gamm-proceedings.com