You are on page 1of 27

Geometry and Linkage

Lecture 1
Day 1-Class 1

References
Gillespie, T., The Fundamentals of Vehicle

Dynamics, Society of Automotive Engineers,


Warrendale, PA, 1992.

Milliken, W.F. and Milliken, D.L., Chassis Design

Principles and Analysis, Society of Automotive


Engineers, Warrendale, PA, 2002.

Hunt, D., Farm Power and Machinery

Management, Iowa State University Press,


Ames, IA, 2001.

Ackerman Geometry
o

Basic layout for

passenger cars,
trucks, and ag
tractors
o = outer steering
angle and i = inner
steering angle
R= turn radius
L= wheelbase and
t=distance between
tires

Center of
Gravity
Turn
Center

R
i

Figure 1.1.
Pivoting
Spindle
(Gillespie, 1992)

Cornering Stiffness and Lateral


Force of a Single Tire
Lateral force (Fy) is the force produced by

the tire due to the slip angle.


The cornering stiffness (C) is the rate of
change of the lateral force with the slip

angle.

Fy

Fy
(1)

Figure 1.2. Fy
acts at a
distance (t) from
the wheel center
known as the
pneumatic trail
(Milliken, et. al., 2002)

Slip Angles
The slip angle () is the angle at which a tire rolls

and is determined by the following equations:

W f *V 2
Cf * g * R

Wr *V 2
r
Cr * g * R

(2)

(3)

V
Fy

W = weight on tires
C = Cornering Stiffness
g = acceleration of gravity

Figure 1.2.
Repeated

V = vehicle velocity
(Gillespie, 1992)

Steering angle
The steering angle () is also known as the

Ackerman angle and is the average of the


front wheel angles
For low speeds it is:
o

L

R

(4)

For high speeds it is:

L
f r
R

Center
of
L Gravity

(5)

f=front slip angle


r=rear slip angle

Figure 1.1.
Repeated

(Gillespie, 1992)

Three Wheel

Figure 1.3. Three wheel


vehicle with turn radius
and steering angle
shown

Easier to determine steer angle


Turn center is the intersection

of just two lines

Pivoting Single Axle


Figure 1.4. Pivoting
single axle with turn
radius and steering
angle shown
R

Entire axle steers


Simple to determine steering angle

Both axles pivot


R

Figure 1.5. Both axles


pivot with turn radius
and steering angle
shown

Only two lines determine steering

angle and turning radius


Can have a shorter turning radius

Articulated
Can have

shorter turning
radius
Allows front
and back axle
to be solid

Figure 1.6. Articulated


vehicle with turn radius
and steering angle
shown

Aligning Torque of a Single


Tire
Aligning Torque (Mz) is the resultant

moment about the center of the wheel do


to the lateral force.

M z Fy * t
Figure 1.7. Top
view of a tire
showing the
aligning torque.

(6)

Fy

Mz

(Milliken, et. al., 2002)

Camber Angle
Camber angle () is

the angle between


the wheel center and
the vertical.
It can also be
referred to as
inclination angle ().

Figure 1.8.
Camber angle

(Milliken, et. al., 2002)

Camber Thrust
Camber thrust (FYc)

is due to the wheel


rolling at the
camber angle
The thrust occurs at
small distance (tc)
from the wheel
center
A camber torque is
then produced (MZc)

Mzc

tc

Fyc

Figure 1.9. Camber thrust and torque


(Milliken, et. al., 2002)

Camber on Ag Tractor
Pivot Axis

Figure 1.10.
Camber angle on
an actual tractor

Wheel Caster
The axle is placed

Pivot Axis

some distance
behind the pivot axis
Promotes stability
Steering becomes
more difficult
Figure 1.11. Wheel
caster creating
stability

(Milliken, et. al., 2002)

Neutral Steer
No change in the steer angle is

necessary as speed changes


The steer angle will then be equal to the
Ackerman angle.
Front and rear slip angles are equal

(Gillespie, 1992)

Understeer
The steered wheels must be steered to a

greater angle than the rear wheels


The steer angle on a constant radius turn
is increased by the understeer gradient
(K) times the lateral acceleration.

L
K * ay
R

(7)

ay

Figure 1.2.
Repeated
(Gillespie, 1992)

Understeer Gradient
If we set equation 6 equal to equation 2 we can see that

K*ay is equal to the difference in front and rear slip angles.


Substituting equations 3 and 4 in for the slip angles yields:

Wf
Cf

Wr

Cr

(8)

Since

V
ay
g*R

(9)

(Gillespie, 1992)

Characteristic Speed
The characteristic speed is a way to

quantify understeer.
Speed at which the steer angle is
twice the Ackerman angle.

Vchar

57.3 * L * g

(10)

(Gillespie, 1992)

Oversteer
The vehicle is such that the steering

wheel must be turned so that the


steering angle decreases as speed is
increased
The steering angle is decreased by the
understeer gradient times the lateral
acceleration, meaning the understeer
gradient is negative
Front steer angle is less than rear
steer angle

(Gillespie, 1992)

Critical Speed
The critical speed is the speed

where an oversteer vehicle is no


longer directionally stable.

Vcrit

57.3 * L * g

(11)

Note: K is negative in oversteer case

(Gillespie, 1992)

Lateral Acceleration Gain


Lateral acceleration gain is the ratio of lateral

acceleration to the steering angle.


Helps to quantify the performance of the
system by telling us how much lateral
acceleration is achieved per degree of steer
angle

V2
ay
57.3Lg

KV 2

1
57.3Lg

(12)

(Gillespie, 1992)

Example Problem
A car has a weight of 1850 lb front axle and 1550 lb

on the rear with a wheelbase of 105 inches. The


tires have the cornering stiffness values given below:

Load
lb/tire

Cornering
Stiffness
lbs/deg

Cornering
Coefficient
lb/lb/deg

225

74

0.284

425

115

0.272

625

156

0.260

925

218

0.242

1125

260

0.230

Determine the steer angle if the


minimum turn radius is 75 ft
We just use equation 1.

L 105 / 12

0.117
R
75
Or 6.68 deg

Find the Understeer gradient


The load on each front tire is 925 lbs and the

load on each rear tire is 775 lbs


The front cornering stiffness is 218 lb/deg and
the rear cornering stiffness 187 lb/deg (by
interpolation)
Using equation 7:
K

Wf
Cf

Wr

Cr

925lb
775lb

218lb / deg 187lb / deg


0.099 deg(/ g )

Find the characteristic speed


Use equation 8 plugging in the given wheelbase and the understeer

gradient

Vchar

57.3 * L * g

57.3 deg/ rad *105in * 32.2 ft / s 2

12in / ft * 0.099 deg


404 ft / s
275mph

Determine the lateral acceleration


gain if velocity is 55 mph
Use equation 10
V2
ay
57.3Lg

KV 2

1
57.3Lg
(81 ft / s ) 2
57.3 deg/ rad (105in / 12in / ft )(32.2 ft / s )

0.099 deg/ g (81 ft / s ) 2


1
57.3 deg/ rad (105in / 12in / ft )(32.2 ft / s )
0.391g / deg

You might also like