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Lecture 1
Day 1-Class 1
References
Gillespie, T., The Fundamentals of Vehicle
Ackerman Geometry
o
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)
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
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
L
R
(4)
L
f r
R
Center
of
L Gravity
(5)
Figure 1.1.
Repeated
(Gillespie, 1992)
Three Wheel
Articulated
Can have
shorter turning
radius
Allows front
and back axle
to be solid
M z Fy * t
Figure 1.7. Top
view of a tire
showing the
aligning torque.
(6)
Fy
Mz
Camber Angle
Camber angle () is
Figure 1.8.
Camber angle
Camber Thrust
Camber thrust (FYc)
Mzc
tc
Fyc
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
Neutral Steer
No change in the steer angle is
(Gillespie, 1992)
Understeer
The steered wheels must be steered to a
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
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
(Gillespie, 1992)
Critical Speed
The critical speed is the speed
Vcrit
57.3 * L * g
(11)
(Gillespie, 1992)
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
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
L 105 / 12
0.117
R
75
Or 6.68 deg
Wf
Cf
Wr
Cr
925lb
775lb
gradient
Vchar
57.3 * L * g
KV 2
1
57.3Lg
(81 ft / s ) 2
57.3 deg/ rad (105in / 12in / ft )(32.2 ft / s )