Chapter 1 : Fundamental of Vehicle Dynamics

By Mr. Gan Leong Ming Semester 2007/2008-I

In the period of early 1900s There had been sporadic attempts to make the vehicle ride decently, but little had been done. The rear passengers still functional as ballast, stuck out behind the rear wheels. Steering was frequently unstable and the front axle with front brakes made shimmy almost inevitable. The engineers had made all the parts function excellently, but when put together the whole was seldom satisfactory. Pick from Reminiscenes of Maurice Olley

Vehicle Dynamics

Broadest sense encompasses all form of conveyance ships, airplanes, trains, rubber-tired vehicles Principles are diverse and extensive

Vehicle Dynamics
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Performance of the vehicle The motions accomplished in accelerating, braking, cornering and ride A response to forces imposed Study of how and why the forces are produced Handling and directional changing performance

Vehicle Dynamics
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Two level of understanding: Empirical : derives from trial and error by which one learns which factors influence vehicle performance often lead to failure Analytical : describe the mechanics of interest based on the known laws of physics so that the analytical model can be established predictive capability

Introductory Terminology


General dimensions/Reference dimensions

      

Wheel Base Wheel Track Sprung/Unsprung weight Curb/Lumped weight Center of gravity height Weight distribution Axis System

Wheel Track


Front track
The linear dimension between the rotational planes of the front wheels on a vehicle.

Rear track
The linear dimension between the rotational planes of the rear wheels on a vehicle.

Production vehicles may use either equal, or dissimilar dimensions for front and rear track. Rear track may be greater than, equal to, or less than front track.

Wheel track, with cg height, affects weight transfer during cornering and influences the roll-over potential. Wheel track must be appropriate to end up with a reasonable weight transfer at the limits of cornering.

Wheel Base


The linear dimension between the front and rear wheels on each side. Production vehicles, for obvious reasons, use square vehicles (same L & R dimension)
The linear dimension between the front and rear axle centerlines. Wheel base affects weight transfer during acceleration and braking.

Curb/Lumped Weight


Curb/Lumped weight
The weight of the vehicle, fueled and prepared with all liquids and equipment w/o passengers. The vehicle as weighed. Always consider in design the limits of vehicle weight and analyze at curb wt. and fully laden. For acceleration, braking, and most tuning analysis

Sprung/Unsprung Weight


Sprung weight
The vehicle masses that are supported by the vehicle springs. Sprung weight moves indirectly with the road surface. Body, passengers, parts of drive train, and parts of suspension.

Unsprung weight
The vehicle masses that are directly driven by tire input forces. Unsprung weight moves directly with the road surface. Wheels, tires, brakes, some suspension etc. For ride analysis

Center of gravity


Center of Gravity
The theoretical point in the X, Y, Z planes where all the mass could be located and the weight distribution of the vehicle would remain unchanged. Cg height affects weight transfer during braking, acceleration and cornering. 1st approximation

Wt long

a hcg ! w g L

Wt lat

a hcg ! w g t

Weight Distribution


The distribution of weight the vehicle weight in the XY plane.

Weight front, % Wf Weight left, % Wl Weight rear, % Wr Weight right, % Wrt

Tractive forces during acceleration are a function of % weight on the drive wheels during acceleration (including weight transfer) Tractive forces required at each axle set during braking are affected by static weight and weight transfer. Brake design choices may be in part affected by brake requirements of each axle.

SAE Vehicle Axis System

Euler Angles


Relate the vehicle fixed coordination system to the earth fixed coordination system. Determined by a sequence of three angular rotations. Yaw [around z axis] Pitch [around y axis] Roll [around x axis]

  

Eulers Law d g! h dt g is net applied torque h is angular momentum

Forces : Newtons Second Law



Translational systems
Fx ! Ma x Fx is force in the x direction M is mass of the body a x is acceleration in the x direction

d d Fx ! M v ! P dt dt P is linear momentum

Rotational systems

! I xx y

Tx is torque about the x axis I xx is moment of inertia about x axis

x

is acceleration about x axis

Dynamics Axle Loads

Drag force

DA ha

Center of gravity, CG Hitch point Towing force

W/g a x
W sin 5

R hz dh

Road gradient

B
xf

W cos 5

Fxf b W L

h R hx c
xr

hh Fxr Wr
Traction Force

Rolling Resistance

Arbitrary forces acting on a vehicle

Motion Analysis By the SAE convention, a clockwise torque about A is positive,

W Wf L  D A h a  a x h  R hx h h  R hz d h  W h sin5 - W c cos5 ! 0 g

So,
W W ! (W c cos5  R hx h h - R hz d h  a x h g h a  W h sin5) /L

and
W Wr ! (W b cos5  R hx h h - R hz (d h  L)  a x h  g h a  W h sin5) /L

Motion Analysis : Static Loads on Level ground



For road gradient = 0

c Ws ! W L b Wrs ! W L

Motion Analysis : Low Speed Acceleration For road gradient = 0 No Drag force No trailer hitch forces

c ax h ax h ! Wfs  W Wf ! W  L g L g L b ax h ax h ! Wrs  W Wr ! W  L g L g L

Motion Analysis : Loads on Grades Grade defined as the rise over the run Grade = Tan (grade angle)

h c h W ! W  5 ! W s  W 5 L L L h b h Wr ! W  5 ! Wrs  W 5 L L L

Motion Analysis

The curb weight of a Continental 4 door Sedan without passengers or cargo are 1049 kg on the front axle and 599.6 kg on the rear. The wheel base, L is 2768.6 mm. Determine the location of the cg to the front wheel and rear wheel.

Motion Analysis A Taurus GL sedan with 3.0L engine accelerates from a standing start up a 6 percent grade at an acceleration of 1,83ft/s2. Find the load distribution on the axles at this condition.
Relevant Data : Curb weight (front) = 884 kg Curb weight (rear ) = 497.6 kg Wheel base, L = 2692.4 mm Passenger weight = 90 kg Passenger weight distribution: Front 49% Rear 51% CG height, h = 508 mm