Vehicle Performance

Pierre Duysinx
Research Center in Sustainable Automotive
Technologies of University of Liege
Academic Year 2018-2019

1
Lesson 1:
Tractive efforts and road loads

2
Outline
◼ DESCRIPTION OF VEHICLE MOTION
◼ Longitudinal motion
◼ POWER AND TRACTIVE FORCE AT WHEELS
◼ Transmission efficiency
◼ Gear ratio
◼ Expression of power and forces at wheels
◼ Power and forces diagram
◼ VEHICLE RESISTANCE
◼ Aerodynamic
◼ Rolling resistance
◼ Grading resistance
◼ General expression of vehicle resistance forces

3
References
◼ T. Gillespie. « Fundamentals of vehicle Dynamics », 1992,
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
◼ R. Bosch. « Automotive Handbook ». 5th edition. 2002. Society
of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
◼ J.Y. Wong. « Theory of Ground Vehicles ». John Wiley & sons.
1993 (2nd edition) 2001 (3rd edition).
◼ W.H. Hucho. « Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles ». 4th edition.
SAE International. 1998.
◼ M. Eshani, Y. Gao & A. Emadi. Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric
and Fuel Cell Vehicles. Fundamentals, Theory and Design. 2nd
Edition. CRC Press.

4
Assumptions and definitions

5
Assumptions
◼ The vehicle is made of several components or
subsystems
◼ We consider the motion of the system as a whole
◼ During acceleration, braking, turn, the vehicle is
considered as a rigid body motion and is
characterized by its geometry, its mass and inertia
properties

6
 Reference frames

O
X
Y Z
Local reference frame oxyz
Inertial coordinate system OXYZ attached to the vehicle body -
SAE (Gillespie, fig. 1.4)
7
Reference frames
◼ Inertial reference frame
◼ X direction of initial displacement or reference direction
◼ Y right side travel
◼ Z towards downward vertical direction

◼ Vehicle reference frame (SAE):

◼ x along motion direction and vehicle symmetry plane
◼ Z along vertical direction pointing to the center of the earth
◼ y in the lateral direction on the right hand side of the driver
towards the downward vertical direction
◼ o, origin at the center of mass

8
 Reference frames

y x z

Système SAE z

Comparison of conventions of y
SAE and ISO/DIN reference
x
frames
Système ISO

9
 Local velocity vectors
◼ Vehicle motion is often
studied in car-body local
systems
◼ u forward speed (+ if in front)
◼ v side speed (+ to the right)
◼ w vertical speed (+ downward)
◼ p rotation speed about a axis
(roll speed)
◼ q rotation speed about y
(pitch)
◼ r rotation speed about z (yaw)

10
Forces
◼ Forces and moments are accounted positively when acting onto
the vehicle and the positive direction with respect to the
considered frame

◼ Corollary
◼ A positive Fx force is propelling the vehicle forward

◼ The reaction force of the ground onto the wheels is

accounted negatively.

◼ Because of the inconveniency of this definition, the SAEJ670e

« Vehicle Dynamics Terminology » is naming as normal force a
force acting downward while vertical forces are referring to
upward forces

11
Equilibrium of longitudinal motion

12
Longitudinal motion

13
 Longitudinal equilibrium
◼ Newton-Euler equations

◼ Equilibrium

14
Longitudinal equilibrium
◼ Equilibrium along forward x direction

◼ Equation of vehicle longitudinal motion

Force at
◼ In energy form the hook

15
Longitudinal equilibrium
◼ Weight under the wheel sets

◼ Solve for Wf

16
Longitudinal equilibrium
◼ Solve for Wr:

◼ Generally tractive forces are not known and the acceleration is

preferred

17
Longitudinal equilibrium
◼ The final expression of the weight under the wheel sets is:

◼ The weight under the front (rear) wheels

◼ Decreases (increases) with the acceleration, the height of the
center of gravity, the slope, the aerodynamics loads
◼ Increases (decreases) when breaking or driving down

18
Longitudinal equilibrium
◼ Static weight distribution

◼ Low speed weight distribution when accelerating

19
Longitudinal equilibrium
◼ Low speed weight distribution when hill climbing

◼ If q is small,

20
Application : position of CoG
◼ Horizontal position of CoG: b and c

◼ Measure the weight under front and rear axles in horizontal

position
◼ It comes m g = Wf + Wr
c b Wr
Wf = mg =
L L Wf + Wr
b c Wf
Wr = mg =
L L Wf + Wr

21
Application : position of CoG

22
Application : position of CoG
◼ Vertical position h of CoG:
◼ Measure the weight under the front and rear axles with predefined
inclined position

◼ Slope

◼ Relation between the weight Pf and Pr measured under the wheel

sets and the effective normal reaction forces Wf and Wr :

23
Application : position of CoG
◼ The normal forces, perpendicular to the level plan of the car are
given by:

◼ It comes

24
Application : position of CoG
◼ The vertical position of the center of gravity is given by

◼ In terms of the measured weight under the axles, it writes:

25
Propulsion system architecture

26
Propulsion system

Gillespie, Fig 2.3

27
 Layout of transmission

Transversal mounting Longitudinal mounting

28
Friction Clutch

29
Friction Clutch

Clutch in closed position Clutch in open position

30
Torque converter (Hydraulic coupling)

31
 Hydraulic coupling
◼ Principle: use the hydro kinetic
energy of the fluid to transfer
smoothly the power from the source
to the load while amplifying the
output torque
◼ The input wheel plays the role of a
pump whereas the output wheel acts
as a turbine
◼ One may add a fixed wheel (stator)
to improve the efficiency

32
Friction and hydraulic clutches
◼ Clutch efficiency
◼ Friction clutch h=1
◼ Hydraulic coupler: h~0.9

33
 Manual gear boxes
Gear box principles
Output shaft

Input shaft

Direct transmission
Intermediate
shaft
34
The gear pairs
◼ Meshed gears behave like two rigid cylinders with equivalent pitch
diameters d01 and d02 rolling on each other without any slippage
◼ If there is no slippage, on can write

◼ Thus the reduction ration i

◼ For external meshing, there is an inversion of rotation direction while

for internal gear meshes, the gear rotation direction is preserved (like
belt and pulleys or chains)

35
Manual gear boxes

36
 Manual gear boxes

1st 2nd

Neutral

3rd
Reverse
37
Manual gear boxes

Gear selection
38
Manual gear boxes operations

Selection of a gear ratio using

rod or cable mechanism
39
Power and tractive efforts at wheels
◼ Manual gearbox efficiency:
◼ Efficiency of a pair of gear (good quality) h= 99% to
98.5 %
◼ Gear box: double gear pairs: h = 97.5%
◼ Gear box: direct drive: h = 100%

40
 Automatic gear boxes
◼ The basic element of automatic gear boxes is the planetary gear
train

Sun = planétaire Planet = satellite Annulus = Couronne

41
Automatic gear box

Principle of an automatic gear box based on double

planetary gear trains

42
Planetary gear in HEV

43
 CVT : Van Doorne System

Pulleys with variable radii

44
CVT : Van Doorne System
◼ Working principle
◼ By modifying the distance between the two
conical half shells, one modifies the effective
radii of the pulleys and so the reduction ratio
◼ Originally the system was based on the
centrifugal forces, but nowadays the system is
actuated by depression actuators and controlled
by microprocessors

◼ PERFORMANCES
◼ Variable reduction ratios varying between 4 to 6
(1:0,5→ 2:1) are achieved
◼ Variable efficiency dependent on the input
torque and the rotation speed

45
 Differential system
◼ During turn, the inner and
outer wheels have different
rotation speeds because of
different radii.
◼ Differential systems allow a
different speed in left / right
wheels with one single input
torque
◼ Differential systems can be
studied as planetary gears
with equal number of teeth
for sun and annulus.

Output shafts
(wheels) 46
Differential
◼ Differential is a device that allows to split
the engine power to the two wheel
shafts while allowing them to spin at
different rotation speeds.
◼ For straight line motion, both wheel
spins at the same speed.
◼ In turn, the inner wheel spins at a lower
speed than the outer wheel.
 Differential system
DIFFERENTIAL
OPERATION
PRINCIPLE

Output
shafts
(wheels)

Input shaft
(engine)
48
Differential system

Working principle of differential system

49
Differential system
◼ Efficiency of differential
◼ Longitudinal layout: 90° change of direction (bevel pair) + offset of
the shaft (hypoid gear): h = 97,5 %
◼ Transversal layout: no bevel → good quality gear pair: h = 98,75%

50
Transfer box
◼ Special differential system
for 4-wheel drive vehicle
◼ The transfer box splits the
torque between the front
and rear axles.

51
Power train tractive effort

52
Power and tractive effort
POWER AT WHEELS
◼ The power that comes to the wheels is the engine power
multiplied by the efficiency of the transmission efficiency h

◼ The driveline efficiency h :

◼ Clutch
◼ Gear box
◼ Differential and transfer box
◼ Kinematic joints

53
 Power and tractive effort
Global efficiency in various situations
Gear ratio Longitudinal Transversal
layout layout
Friction clutch Normal 1. 0,975. 0,975 1. 0,975 . 0,985
= 0,95 = 0,96
Direct 1. 1. 0,975 = X
0,975
Hydraulic Normal 0,88 . 0,975 . 0,88 . 0,975
coupling 0,975 = 0,86 0,985 = 0,865
Direct 0,88 . 1 . 0,975 x
= 0,88
54
Power and tractive effort
WHEEL TRACTIVE EFFORT
◼ Power at wheels and power at the plant

◼ Gear ratio i>1

◼ Displacement speed and rotation speed of the wheels

◼ Re: effective rolling radius of the tire

55
Power and tractive effort
TRACTIVE FORCE
◼ Relation between plant rotation speed and traveling speed

◼ Transmission length R/i

◼ Indicates the travelling speed for a given plant rotation speed.

◼ Generally given in km/h per rpm of the plant

◼ Example 30 km/h per 1000 tr/min

56
Power and tractive effort
TRACTIVE FORCES
◼ It follows

◼ Then the tractive force writes

57
 Tractive force vs vehicle speed
◼ For a given transmission ratio r, one has:

◼ So for a given transmission ratio, one gets the tractive force in terms
of the vehicle speed

◼ Plotting the curves requires

◼ Multiplying the speed curve by R/i
◼ Multiplying the tractive force by h i/R v

58
Tractive force vs vehicle speed
◼ To draw the tractive force curve, you
have to:
◼ To multiply the speed axis by R/i
◼ To multiple the force axis by h i/R

II

III

IV

v
59
Tractive force vs vehicle speed

I
Envelop of the
tractive force curves
II for different gear
ratio is defining a
constant power (1/v)
III

IV

v 60
Tractive power vs vehicle speed

Proues(v)
h Pmax

I II III IV

61
Tractive force vs vehicle speed
Effect of automatic transmission
and hydraulic clutch

Gillespie, Fig 2.5, 2.6

62
Vehicle road resistance

63
Vehicle road resistance
◼ The vehicle resistance forces include 3 types of forces

◼ Aerodynamic forces (drag force)

◼ Rolling resistance due to energy dissipation in tires, suspensions,

shock absorbers, etc.

◼ Grading resistance due to the slope of the road

64
Aerodynamic forces and moments
◼ The air flow around the vehicle during its motion creates
aerodynamic forces that can become important especially at
high speed

◼ The vehicle is a so-called bluff body which generates a lot of

vortices and turbulent flows, especially at the level of back of
the roof.

◼ The air flow is very complex because of

◼ The ground effect that affects deeply the flow
◼ The wheel spinning that interact strongly with the vehicle air flow.
◼ The internal aerodynamic flow is necessary to cool the engine
compartment and the air conditioning of the cabin but it introduces
a drag penalty

65
Aerodynamic forces and moments
◼ The aerodynamic forces have two major components:

◼ Shape drag : the shape of the vehicle modifies the air flow creating
a pressure distributions giving rise to a net force pointing backward

Because of Mach and Reynolds numbers, the fluid flow is

incompressible and non viscous (except in the boundary layers)
Large vortices are present because of the bluff body geometry and
the boundary layers are not attached

◼ Skin friction : the viscosity effects, which take place in the

boundary layers around the vehicle skin

66
 Aerodynamic forces and moments
Low pressure / high speed
High pressure /
low speed

Stagnation point Air flow around a car

p = pt (Gillespie, Fig4.1) pt = ps + 1 / 2 V 2 = Cste
67
 Aerodynamic forces and moments

p − patm
cp =
1 / 2 V 2

Flow separation
High pressure

Gillespie Fig 4.6 : Pressure distribution along

the central line of the car 71
 Aerodynamic forces and moments
3D effects: Air flow is intrinsically 3D which increases the air flow
separation at the end of the car

Separation zone
Importance of the design:
• bakelite
• trunk
• side rails

Gillespie Fig 4.7 : Wake systems at the back of the car

72
Estimating the aerodynamic drag
◼ Drag force

◼ Estimating the frontal area

◼ Using CAD system
◼ Using pixel counting
◼ Approximation: Paul Frere formula

75
Typical drag coefficient of automobiles

(Wong Table 3.1)

76
Typical drag coefficient of automobiles

(Wong Table 3.1)

77
 Main sources of the drag of passenger car
◼ 65% of drag comes from the
body shape (front, back,
floor, skin)
◼ Large potential of reduction,
especially for the back of
the car to control the
separation flows
◼ Influence as well of
◼ Wheels (21%)
◼ Details (7%)
◼ Internal aerodynamics
(6%)

Gillespie Fig 4.11

78
Rolling resistance forces
◼ Under free rolling conditions, it is necessary to apply a torque to
maintain the motion and counteract the rolling resistance
moment.

◼ The rolling resistance is covering a large number of phenomena

of different natures:
◼ The energy dissipation in the tire due to the hysteresis of the
material due to alternate motion in the sidewalls and in the tread
blocks
◼ Air drag inside and outside the tire
◼ The scrubbing of the tire on the ground
◼ The friction in the driveline
◼ The dissipation of energy in the shock absorber
◼ The misalignment of the tires, the longitudinal and lateral slip
◼ The deformation of the road surface
83
Rolling resistance forces
◼ Experiments show that generally, the global rolling resistance
force are with a very good agreement using a linear model as a
function of the vertical force applied onto the tire

The coefficient f is the rolling resistance coefficient

◼ The rolling resistance coefficient, ratio between the rolling

resistance force and the normal force encompasses the
complicated and interdependent physical properties of the tire
and the ground.

84
Rolling resistance forces
◼ 1st cause: hysteresis of the tire materials (viscoelastic rubber)
because of deformation cycle

◼ Other sources:
◼ Frictions during slippage
◼ Air ventilation inside and outside

◼ Example: truck tire at 130 km/h

◼ 90-95 % = hysteresis
◼ 2-10 % friction
◼ 1.5 – 3.5 % aerodynamic dissipation

87
 Rolling resistance forces
◼ The resulting contact force is
located in front of the
theoretical contact point.
◼ The pressure distribution give
rise to a rolling resistance
moment that is statically
equivalent to a resistance force
in the contact patch

88
Rolling resistance forces
◼ The rolling resistance is influenced by the tire
structure: the rolling resistance of bias tire is higher
than radial tire

◼ The operating conditions mainly:

◼ The inflating pressure: the rolling resistance is reduced for a
higher inflation pressure
◼ The vehicle speed: one observes a slight increase with v at
low speed. A dramatic increase after a critical speed because
of the development of high-energy standing waves
◼ The longitudinal and lateral slip: the rolling resistance
increases as the square of the side slip.
89
Rolling resistance forces
◼ The rolling resistance is much higher on soft and smooth
ground because of the deformation work of the soil

◼ The rolling resistance is also higher on wet ground or in snow

90
 Rolling resistance forces
fRR

Evolution of rolling resistance

with tire technology
development

91
Rolling resistance forces

92
Estimation of tire rolling resistance
◼ Order of magnitude given by the Automotive handbook (Bosch)

93
Estimation of tire rolling resistance
◼ For instance Wong formula for radial tires:

◼ Influence of inflating pressure and normal load

◼ with V in m/s and p, the inflating pressure in bar

◼ Influence of inflating pressure and normal load

◼ with v in m/s and p, the inflating pressure in bar

94
Estimation of tire rolling resistance
◼ ADVISOR Model developed in collaboration with Michelin

◼ p is the tire pressure in MPa

◼ Fz is the tire load in kg
◼ V is the vehicle speed in m/s
◼ α, β, a, b, and c are coefficients used to fit the experimental rolling
resistance data

95
 Estimation of tire rolling resistance
2001 OE Fitments Size alpha beta a b c mass [kg] SMERF [N] SMERF P SMERF Z
Mercury Cougar P205/60R15 -0.4815 1.0051 6.82E-02 2.32E-04 1.20E-06 8.23 24.75 260 4051.5
Kia Optima P205/60R15 -0.4745 0.9552 1.50E-01 4.87E-04 1.18E-06 9.51 35.98 260 4051.5
Mazda 626 P205/60R15 -0.4243 0.9568 1.59E-01 3.44E-04 1.25E-06 10.55 48.63 260 4051.5

Volkswagen Eurovan P205/60R16 -0.4428 0.9036 2.11E-01 6.00E-04 2.17E-06 10.42 40.53 260 4223.1
Honda Accord EX Coupe V6 P205/60R16 -0.3388 0.9375 1.01E-01 1.59E-04 9.93E-07 9.71 43.32 260 4223.1
Dodge Stratus ES

Toyota Camry P205/65R15 -0.3937 0.8901 1.66E-01 3.50E-04 2.09E-06 9.71 37.41 260 4360.3
Honda Accord LX & EX Sedan V6 P205/65R15 -0.3947 0.9468 1.13E-01 1.89E-04 2.24E-06 10.35 40.78 260 4360.3
Hynudai XG300 P205/65R15 -0.3191 0.9076 1.23E-01 1.96E-04 1.52E-06 10.52 47.35 260 4360.3
Lexus ES 300
Nissan Maxima
Saturn L Series

Subaru Outback P225/60R16 -0.4814 0.9463 1.47E-01 3.69E-04 2.38E-06 12.95 38.33 260 5012.7
Ford Crown Victoria P225/60R16 -0.3881 0.9550 1.03E-01 1.46E-04 2.19E-06 11.08 47.21 260 5012.7
Dodge Intrepid P225/60R16 -0.5888 1.0921 7.93E-02 1.18E-04 3.52E-07 15.29 55.69 260 5012.7
Lincoln Town Car

Ford F150 P235/70R16 -0.4704 1.0129 8.49E-02 1.16E-04 2.64E-06 12.86 51.14 260 6180.3
Mazda Tribute LX & ES P235/70R16 -0.4003 0.9315 1.39E-01 2.20E-04 1.90E-06 14.26 57.88 260 6180.3
P235/70R16 -0.4090 0.9765 1.06E-01 1.11E-04 1.52E-06 14.26 61.20 260 6180.3

Ford Explorer P235/75R15 -0.5007 0.9141 2.55E-01 4.69E-04 3.49E-06 13.30 54.08 260 6317.5
Dodge Dakota P235/75R15 -0.4797 0.9464 2.08E-01 2.56E-04 3.94E-06 13.31 65.11 260 6317.5
Chevy Trailblazer P235/75R15 -0.2601 0.8275 2.00E-01 2.50E-05 4.18E-06 13.80 71.30 260 6317.5
Mercury Mountaineer
Mitsubishi Montero Sport ES
96
Resistance force due to grading
◼ Expression of grading resistance

97
Expression of road load
◼ General form of the vehicle resistance

◼ General formulation

◼ with A, B > 0

98
 Evolution of road loads with vehicle speed

Wong, Fig 3.3

50 mph = 80 km/h

99
Evolution of road loads with vehicle speed
◼ For passenger cars, the rolling resistance dominates until a
break-event speed of about 80 km/h

◼ For heavy duty vehicle, the rolling resistance is still dominant till
max speed.

◼ Grading forces can easily be as large as the aerodynamic drag

and the rolling resistance on level road

100
Evolution of road loads with vehicle speed

101