Application of Inverse Models to Vehicle Optimization Problems

This paper presents a nonlinear inverse model of a road vehicle which simulates combined steering and braking/driving. The inputs to the model are the lateral and longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle's sprung mass center. The simulation returns the steering wheel angle and brake/drive torques required to obtain the desired accelerations. An example is presented which demonstrates the utility of inverse models for optimization purposes.     

Crosswind Sensitivity of Passenger Cars and the Influence of Chassis and Aerodynamic Properties on Driver Preferences

Results of vehicle crosswind research involving both full-scale driver-vehicle tests and associated analyses are presented. The paper focuses on experimental crosswind testing of several different vehicle configurations and a group of seven drivers. A test procedure, which utilized wind-generating fans arranged in alternating directions to provide a crosswind “gauntlet”, is introduced and described. Driver preferences for certain basic chassis and aerodynamic properties are demonstrated and linked to elementary system responses measured during the crosswind gauntlet tests. Based on these experimental findings and confirming analytical results, a two-stage vehicle design process is then recommended for predicting and analyzing the crosswind sensitivity of a particular vehicle or new design.     

Preview Control Algorithms for the Active Suspension of an Off-Road Vehicle

The potential performance improvement using preview control for active vehicle suspension was first recognized in the late nineteen sixties. All work done since that time has been based on optimal control theory using simple vehicle models.

In this article, the performance of quarter vehicle preview controllers when applied to a real off-road vehicle is simulated using both two degree of freedom quarter and ten degree of freedom full vehicle models. The results, which are compared with non-preview active and conventional passive suspensions, confirm that preview control reduces vertical acceleration of the body centre of gravity, which results in improved ride quality. Further, reductions in pitch and roll motion result from smaller vertical displacements of the vehicle quarters. Coupling between quarters, through the vehicle body, appears to have a smoothing effect on the control.

As an alternative to optimal control theory based controllers, a simple ad hoc preview controller based on isolating the vehicle body from dynamic loads transmitted through the suspension is proposed. Simulation results show that such a controller outperforms the optimal control theory based controllers over small discrete disturbances but responds poorly to disturbances encountered from other than steady state.     

Effect of Connecting the Front and Rear Air Suspensions of a Vehicle on the Transmissibility of Road Undulation Inputs

Airsprings have been used for vehicle suspensions over the last 40 years. They are mostly used as independent suspensions. Analysis of air springs available in literature is mostly limited to a single-degree-of-freedom system or a two-degrees-of-freedom system only in the translation mode. This paper deals with a model of a vehicle where the front and the rear springs are connected by a capillary tube. A two-degrees-of-freedom model having motion in bounce and pitch mode is presented. Equations of mass flow are linearized on the assumption of small variations in volume and pressure. Expressions for the transmissibility and the phase angle in the bounce and the pitch mode are derived. Road inputs to the front and the rear axles are assumed to be identical except for a phase difference between them. The effect of the capillary flow coefficient and that of the phase angle between the front and the rear axle excitation are studied. It is shown that an optimum value of the capillary flow coefficient exists which minimizes the transmissibility of motion in both modes over the entire frequency range. It is also observed that a phase angle of 180 degrees presents ideal transmissibility characteristics. Thus, a promising application of air springs for a vehicle suspension is presented.     

Performance Potential and Power Consumption of Slow-Active Suspension Systems with Preview

Two possible layouts of a slow-active suspension model are analysed. Optimal control laws for different actuator bandwidths and various amounts of road preview are generated, and estimates of power consumption are made. Higher bandwidth systems (10Hz) require less preview to obtain a given level of performance than those with a lower bandwidth (3Hz) but use more energy in doing so. Similar performance is available from the two systems considered, although the second uses considerably less energy to obtain that performance.     

Shape Optimization of Elliptical Road Containers Due to Liquid Load in Steady-State Turning

A numerical analysis of liquid load in elliptical road containers undergoing a steady-state turning manoeuvre is presented for containers of unrestricted size and for containers of fixed capacity. The liquid load is expressed in terms of the horizontal and vertical forces and the overturning moment created by these forces around the middle bottom point of the container. The moment is obtained by integrating the liquid free-surface equation and using numerical calculation of the resulting expressions. An optimization study with an objective to minimize the peak overturning moment is performed on containers of fixed capacity to identify the optimal height/width ratio of the container. The results of this investigation being of a general nature, i.e. with no restriction for an application, are particularly intended for road tankers under a steady turning manoeuvre, where they can be applied with high degree of accuracy.     

平地机安装自动找平系统的使用与校对

平地机被广泛应用于各种路面工程的平整及其它工程的改良施工中,介绍了平地机自动找平系统的组成、作用、控制,着重对系统的三大作用、校对时间作了说明.