Road Vehicle Dynamics

Road Vehicle Dynamics supplies students and technicians working in industry with both the theoretical background of mechanical and automotive engineering, and the know-how needed to perform numerical simulations. Bringing together the foundations of the discipline and its recent developments in a single text, the book is structured in three parts: it begins with a historical overview of road vehicles; then deals with the forces exchanged between the vehicle and the road, and the vehicle and the air; and finally, deals with the dynamic behavior of the vehicle in normal driving conditions with some extensions towards conditions encountered in high-speed racing. Coverage of contemporary automatic controls is included in this edition.

In striving for optimal comfort and safety conditions in road vehicles, today’s electronically controlled components provide a range of new options. These are developed and tested using computer simulations in software in the loop or hardware in the loop environments—an advancement that requires the modern automotive engineer to be able to build basic simulation models, handle higher level models, and operate simulation tools effectively. Combining the fundamentals of vehicle dynamics with the basics of computer simulated modeling, Road Vehicle Dynamics: Fundamentals and Modeling Aspects draws on lecture notes from undergraduate and graduate courses given by the author, as well as industry seminars and symposiums, to provide practical insight on the subject. Requiring only a first course in dynamics and programming language as a prerequisite, this highly accessible book offers end-of-chapter exercises to reinforce concepts as well as programming examples and results using MATLAB®. The book uses SI-units throughout, and begins with an introduction and overview of units and quantities, terminology and definitions, multibody dynamics, and equations of motion. It then discusses the road, highlighting both deterministic and stochastic road models; tire handling including contact calculation, longitudinal and lateral forces, vertical axis torques, and measurement and modeling techniques; and drive train components and concepts such as transmission, clutch, and power source. Later chapters discuss suspension systems, including a dynamic model of rack-and-pinion steering as well as double-wishbone suspension systems; force elements such as springs, anti-roll bars, and hydro-mounts; and vehicle dynamics in vertical, longitudinal, and lateral directions using a simple model approach to examine the effects of nonlinear, dynamic, and active force elements. Highlighting useable knowledge, the book concludes with a three-dimensional vehicle model and typical results of standard driving maneuvers.

This book provides a detailed and well-rounded overview of the dynamics of road vehicle systems. Readers will come to understand how physical laws, human factor considerations, and design choices come together to affect a vehicle's ride, handling, braking, and acceleration. Following an introduction and general review of dynamics, topics include: analysis of dynamic systems; tire dynamics; ride dynamics; vehicle rollover analysis; handling dynamics; braking; acceleration; and total vehicle dynamics.

This book deals with the analysis of off-road vehicle dynamics from kinetics and kinematics perspectives and the performance of vehicle traversing over rough and irregular terrain. The authors consider the wheel performance, soil-tire interactions and their interface, tractive performance of the vehicle, ride comfort, stability over maneuvering, transient and steady state conditions of the vehicle traversing, modeling the aforementioned aspects and optimization from energetic and vehicle mobility perspectives. This book brings novel figures for the transient dynamics and original wheel terrain dynamics at on-the-go condition.

Featuring contributions from industry leaders in their respective fields, this volume presents comprehensive, authoritative coverage of all the major issues involved in road vehicle dynamic behavior. It begins with a short history of road and off-road vehicle dynamics followed by thorough, detailed state-of-the-art chapters on modeling, analysis and optimization in vehicle system dynamics, vehicle concepts and aerodynamics, pneumatic tires and contact wheel-road/off-road, modeling vehicle subsystems, vehicle dynamics and active safety, man-vehicle interaction, intelligent vehicle systems, and road accident reconstruction and passive safety.

This textbook covers handling and performance of both road and race cars. Mathematical models of vehicles are developed always paying attention to state the relevant assumptions and to provide explanations for each step. This innovative approach provides a deep, yet simple, analysis of the dynamics of vehicles. The reader will soon achieve a clear understanding of the subject, which will be of great help both in dealing with the challenges of designing and testing new vehicles and in tackling new research topics. The book deals with several relevant topics in vehicle dynamics that are not discussed elsewhere and this new edition includes thoroughly revised chapters, with new developments, and many worked exercises. Praise for the previous edition: Great book! It has changed drastically our approach on many topics. We are now using part of its theory on a daily basis to constantly improve ride and handling performances. --- Antonino Pizzuto, Head of Chassis Development Group at Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center Astonishingly good! Everything is described in a very compelling and complete way. Some parts use a different approach than other books. --- Andrea Quintarelli, Automotive Engineer

Essentials of Vehicle Dynamics explains the essential mathematical basis of vehicle dynamics in a concise and clear way, providing engineers and students with the qualitative understanding of vehicle handling performance needed to underpin chassis-related research and development. Without a sound understanding of the mathematical tools and principles underlying the complex models in vehicle dynamics, engineers can end up with errors in their analyses and assumptions, leading to costly mistakes in design and virtual prototyping activities. Author Joop P. Pauwelussen looks to rectify this by drawing on his 15 years’ experience of helping students and professionals understand the vehicle as a dynamic system. He begins as simply as possible before moving on to tackle models of increasing complexity, emphasizing the critical role played by tire-road contact and the different analysis tools required to consider non-linear dynamical systems. Providing a basic mathematical background that is ideal for students or those with practical experience who are struggling with the theory, Essentials of Vehicle Dynamics is also intended to help engineers from different disciplines, such as control and electronic engineering, move into the automotive sector or undertake multi-disciplinary vehicle dynamics work. Focuses on the underlying mathematical fundamentals of vehicle dynamics, equipping engineers and students to grasp and apply more complex concepts with ease. Written to help engineers avoid the costly errors in design and simulation brought about by incomplete understanding of modeling tools and approaches. Includes exercises to help readers test their qualitative understanding and explain results in physical and vehicle dynamics terms.

The authors examine in detail the fundamentals and mathematical descriptions of the dynamics of automobiles. In this context different levels of complexity will be presented, starting with basic single-track models up to complex three-dimensional multi-body models. A particular focus is on the process of establishing mathematical models on the basis of real cars and the validation of simulation results. The methods presented are explained in detail by means of selected application scenarios.