Chapter 1 : Fundamental of Vehicle

Dynamics
By
Dr. Gan Leong Ming
Semester 2012/2013-II
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
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
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
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
L
h
g
a
w Wt
cg
long
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
t
h
g
a
w Wt
cg
lat
Weight Distribution
The distribution of weight the vehicle weight in the X-
Y plane.

Weight front, % W
f
Weight rear, % W
r

Weight left, % W
l
Weight right, % W
rt

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]

momentum angular is h
torque applied net is g
h
dt
d
g
Law Eulers
=
Forces : Newtons Second Law
Translational systems




Rotational systems
direction x in the on accelerati is a
body the of mass is M
direction x in the force is F
Ma F
x
x
x x
=
momentum linear is P
P
dt
d
v
dt
d
M F
x
= =
axis about x on accelerati is
axis about x inertia of moment is I
axis x about the torque is T
I T
x
xx
x
x xx x
- =
Dynamics Axle Loads
a
h
A
D
O
L
b
c
f
W
r
W
h
d
h
h
hx
R
hz
R
h
x
a W/g
W
O sin W
O cos W
Center of gravity,
CG
Drag force
Towing
force
Traction Force
Rolling Resistance
xr
F
xf
F
xf
R
xr
R
Hitch point
Road
gradient
Arbitrary forces acting on a vehicle
A
B
Motion Analysis
By the SAE convention, a clockwise torque about A
is positive,
0 cos c W - sin h W d R h R h a
g
W
h D L W
h hz h hx x a A f
= O O + + + + +
So,
/L ) sin h W h D - h a
g
W
d R - h R cos c (W W
a A x h hz h hx f
O O =
/L ) sin h W h D h a
g
W
) L (d R - h R cos b (W W
a A x h hz h hx r
O + + + + + O =
and
Motion Analysis : Static Loads on Level ground
For road gradient = 0
L
b
W W
L
c
W W
rs
fs
=
=
Motion Analysis : Low Speed Acceleration
For road gradient = 0
No Drag force
No trailer hitch forces
L
h
g
a
W W
L
h
g
a
L
b
W W
L
h
g
a
W W
L
h
g
a
L
c
W W
x
rs
x
r
x
fs
x
f
+ =
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
Motion Analysis : Loads on Grades
Grade defined as the rise over the run
Grade = Tan (grade angle)
O + =
|
.
|

\
|
O + =
O =
|
.
|

\
|
O =
L
h
W W
L
h
L
b
W W
L
h
W W
L
h
L
c
W W
rs r
fs f
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/s
2
. 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
Question
A 2.4L engine capacity passenger car has total
curb weight of 1.45 ton and weight distribution of
58/42. When a driver and a co-driver seat on the
car, each of their 85kg body mass will serve
another 60/40 weight distribution. Find the static
weight distribution of the car at this condition and
the location of the cg. The car wheelbase is
2.84m.

When the car accelerate at 0.4g at a grade of
-4.5 percent, what is the weight distribution at
each wheel.

Compare to static condition, how much is the cg
shift refer to front wheel.