A new formulation of the understeer coefficient to relate yaw torque and vehicle handling

The handling behaviour of vehicles is an important property for its relation to performance and safety. In 1970s, Pacejka did the groundwork for an objective analysis introducing the handling diagram and the understeer coefficient. In more recent years, the understeer concept is still mentioned but the handling is actively managed by direct yaw control (DYC). In this paper an accurate analysis of the vehicle handling is carried out, considering also the effect of drive forces. This analysis brings to a new formulation of the understeer coefficient, which is almost equivalent to the classical one, but it can be obtained by quasi-steady-state manoeuvres. In addition, it relates the vehicle yaw torque to the understeer coefficient, filling up the gap between the classical handling approach and DYC. A multibody model of a Formula SAE car is then used to perform quasi-steady-state simulations in order to verify the effectiveness of the new formulation. Some vehicle set-ups and wheel drive arrangements are simulated and the results are discussed. In particular, the handling behaviours of the rear wheel drive (RWD) and the front wheel drive (FWD) architectures are compared, finding an apparently surprising result: for the analysed vehicle the FWD is less understeering than for RWD. The relation between the yaw torque and the understeer coefficient allows to understand this behaviour and opens-up the possibility for different yaw control strategies.     

On the handling performance of a vehicle with different front-to-rear wheel torque distributions

ABSTRACT

The handling characteristic is a classical topic of vehicle dynamics. Usually, vehicle handling is studied by analyzing the understeer coefficient in quasi-steady-state maneuvers. In this paper, experimental tests are performed on an electric vehicle with four independent motors, which is able to reproduce front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive (FWD, RWD and AWD, respectively) architectures. The handling characteristics of each architecture are inferred through classical and new concepts. The study presents a procedure to compute the longitudinal and lateral tire forces, which is based on a first estimate and a subsequent correction of the tire forces that guarantee the equilibrium. A yaw moment analysis is performed to identify the contributions of the longitudinal and lateral forces. The results show a good agreement between the classical and new formulations of the understeer coefficient, and allow to infer a relationship between the understeer coefficient and the yaw moment analysis. The handling characteristics vary with speed and front-to-rear wheel torque distribution. An apparently surprising result arises at low speed: the RWD architecture is the most understeering configuration. This is discussed by analyzing the yaw moment caused by the longitudinal forces of the front tires, which is significant for high values of lateral acceleration and steering angle.     

关于通过悬架改进设计优化汽车转向特性的研究

对某SUV车建立了刚柔耦合整车系统虚拟样机模型,进行了稳态转向特性仿真分析,发现该车具有先不足转向后过多转向的问题,并且中性转向点的侧向加速度值an偏小.通过对悬架刚度、稳定杆刚度的优化设计,解决了该车的过多转向问题,使之具有了适度的不足转向特性,并且使an达到了设计要求.最后对改进前后的方案进行了对比分析及试验验证,说明优化的效果是非常明显的.     

扭力梁式后悬架对不足转向性的影响分析

根据汽车操纵稳定性理论和悬架侧倾受力分析,较系统地阐述了扭力梁式后悬架对整车不足转向性的影响和改善措施。通过对前束和轴转向的控制,使后轴车轮侧偏角背离整车离心力方向,以提高整车的不足转向性。