Written examination in the course

TME102 Vehicle Dynamics, Advanced

Date: Thursday June 4, 2015

Time: 08.30 - 12.30
Location: Maskin
Examiner: Mathias Lidberg
Exam contact: Mathias Lidberg, 031 772 1535. Visits to exam: 09.30, and 11.30.
Solutions: posted on the course homepage
Reference Material:

• Language dictionaries
• Mathematical and Physics Handbooks, β or equivalent in English.
• Engineering Handbooks (such as Bosch or Dubbel) ARE NOT ALLOWED.

• Basic calculators, Chalmers Type Approved (Casio FX82, Texas TI30 and Sharp EL531) or equiv-
alent.
The examination contains 5 problems, answer all questions. Each problem gives 10 points. Total exam-
ination = 50 points. Passing Points for Exam: 20. The exam will test your ability to understand and
solve a problem. To succeed, you will have to document your solution in a convincing way (clear and
logical sketches, words and equations.)

Additional information such as notation, vehicle data and figures can be found in Appendix. If you need
additional vehicle data make reasonable assumptions.

Please, do not use red pen or pencil.

Please, number all of the pages.

Please, read also the general rules on the brown or blue cover distributed by the examination staff.

Review of exams: The results of the exam will be posted within 19 days. Time for review will be posted
on course home page.

Good Luck ! /Mathias Lidberg

1
Problem 1: Tire and Suspension (10p)
a. Define cornering stiffness and then determine the cornering stiffness for the Burckhardt tire formula
below. Also determine the slip angle α∗ for the maximum lateral force max and the maximum lateral
force; Fymax .
Fy (α) = c1 (1 − ec2 α ) − c3 α. (1)

Solution:
Definition of the cornering stiffness:

∂Fy
CF α = (2)
∂α α=0

Taking derivative of (1) with respect to α:

∂Fy
= −c1 c2 ec2 α − c3 = −(c1 c2 ec2 α + c3 ) (3)
∂α
Thus cornering stiffness can be calculated by putting (3) into (2):

CF α = −(c1 c2 ec2 α + c3 ) = −(c1 c2 + c3 ) (4)

α=0
To calculate the maximum lateral force:

∂Fy 1 c3

= 0 ⇒ −c1 c2 ec2 α∗ − c3 = 0 ⇒ α∗ = ln − (5)
∂α α=α∗ c2 c1 c2
Inserting (5) into (1) gives the maximum value for Fy as below:
c3  c3

Fymax = c1 + 1 − ln − (6)
c2 c1 c2

2
b. The cornering stiffness of a regular car tire depends on the vertical force, see Figure 1. Sketch
and explain how changing the roll stiffness of an axle in a passenger vehicle changes the effective axle
cornering stiffness.

2500
low pressure
nominal pressure
high pressure
2000
Cornering Stiffness C Fα [N/deg]

1500

1000

500

0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000
Vertical Force Fz [N]

Figure 1: Tire characteristics

3
Solution:
Consider normal tire pressure curve for a vehicle with static load of let’s say 6000 N, and in a cornering
manoeuvre. The load transfer on one axle would be like in case (I) as shown in the Figure (2).

2500
low pressure
nominal pressure
high pressure
2000 Difference in cornering
Cornering Stiffness C Fα [N/deg]

stiffness ΔCFα

Cα,eff,I I
Cα,eff,II
II

1000
ΔFzI ΔFzI

ΔFzII ΔFzII
500

0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000
Vertical Force Fz [N]

Figure 2: Tire characteristics

Recalling the relation between roll stiffness and load transfer on ith axle as below:
1
∆Fzi = (cϕi ϕ + kϕi ϕ̇ + hi Fyi ), i = 1(front), 2(rear) (7)
2si
shows that changing the roll stiffness of the axle will change the load transfer to case (II). As a result,
the effective cornering stiffness of the axle will change from Cα,ef f,I to Cα,ef f,II which is different, as
shown in the Figure 2.

Additional comments:
In fact, increasing the roll stiffness, will result in increase in load transfer, that decreases the effective
cornering stiffness as shown in Figure 2. The effect would be vise vera if roll stiffness decreases.

4
c. Consider the tire characteristics shown in the Figure 1 for various air pressures for the same tire.
The vehicle you are developing has a static load of approximately 5800 N/wheel. Estimate the change in
understeer gradient for an SUV with c.g height h = 0.6 m as a function of longitudinal acceleration for
low and high tire pressure. Make assumptions for unknown vehicle parameters.

Solution:
Considering quasi steady state to study the understeer gradient, together with the high CG height
assumption for the SUV vehicle implies that the effect of load transfer is dominating the effect of combined
slip. The understeer coefficient can be defined then as below:
Wf Wr
η= − (8)
Cf Cr
Given a static load equal to 5800 N/wheel, the vehicle is neutral steer in constant speed straight movement.
Longitudinal acceleration will cause longitudinal load transfer, and consequently the effective cornering
stiffness of the axles will change. For example, in case of accelerating, the load transfer brings more load
from front axle to the rear axle, that results in smaller cornering stiffness in front and vise versa, as can
be seen in Figure 1. Therefore one can write:
 
Wf
 ∆Fz,f < 0 ⇒ Fz,f ↓ ⇒ Cf ↓ ⇒ Cf ↑ 
  W Wr 
f
ax > 0 ⇒ ⇒ − ↑ ⇒ η ↑ (9)
 ∆F > 0 ⇒ F ↑ ⇒ C ↑ ⇒ Wr ↓ 
  Cf Cr
z,r z,r r Cr

As a result, the vehicle becomes understeer when accelerating.

The same analogy holds in the other direction when braking, i. e. ax < 0, that makes understeer gradient
negative, hence the vehicle oversteer.
As can be seen in Figure 1, the high pressure curve slopes at a higher angle that means the changes in
cornering stiffness are bigger than for low pressure. Therefore, the absolute value of understeer gradient
is bigger for the high pressure tire. Resulting behavior for high and low pressure would be more or less
the same as shown in Figure 3.

ax
Low pressure

Nominal pressure

High pressure

Figure 3: Understeer gradient vs. longitudinal acceleration

Studying the understeer gradient requires quasi steady state condition which implies small values of
longitudinal acceleration, i. e. |ax | < 2 m/s2 . That provides the possibility to approximate the relation
between η and ax as a linear relation, as below:
η∗ = K∗ ax , (10)

5
where K∗ can be estimated for different tire pressures, using Figure 1. The longitudinal load transfer per
wheel can be calculated as below:
h
∆Fz,f = −max (11)
2l
Assuming ax = 2 m/s2 , m = 4 × 5800/g kg, h = 0.6, and an arbitrary value for the wheelbase, let’s say
l = 1.675 m, gives:
.6
∆Fz,f = −(4 × 5800/g) × 2 × ' −850N ⇒ ∆Fz,r ' 850N (12)
2 × 1.675
According to Figure 1, one can write:
2
ax = 2m/s

 ∆Fz,f ' −850N ⇒ Cf,h ' 1420, Cf,n ' 1460, Cf,l ' 1480 N/deg
⇒
∆Fz,r ' 850N ⇒ Cr,h ' 1700, Cr,n ' 1650, Cr,l ' 1610 N/deg


⇒ ηh = 0.673, ηn = 0.458, ηl = 0.316 deg

⇒ Kh = 0.34, Kn = 0.23, Kl = 0.16 deg

where indices h, n, and l represent high pressure, nominal pressure, and low pressure, respectively.

6
Problem 2: Advanced Tire Modeling (10p)
Consider a simple elastic foundation model for a tire, where tire deformation increases linearly from the
leading contact point (A) along the contact patch until it reaches the maximum displacement and slide
region, see Figure 4.

Dm
α
A xs l x
Slide region

Figure 4: Simple elastic foundation model

a. Assume uniform distribution of normal force and calculate the maximum possible displacement (Dm).
Hint: find the displacement which if applied to the entire patch, the lateral force does not exceed the
available force. The tire lateral stiffness per unit length is c and friction coefficient is µ.

Solution: R
Maximum lateral force cannot exceed the µFzR, and since Fy = cD(x)dx, the integral may reach its
maximum value when xs = 0, that gives Fy = cD(x)dx = cDm l. Therefore one can write:

µFz
lcDm = µFz ⇒ Dm = (13)
cl
b. What is the maximum possible slip angle with no sliding for a tire with normal force of 4 kN when l
= 200 mm, c = 2.5 MPa and µ = 1?

Solution:
D

 tanα = S = xm s µFz (1)(4 × 103 )
µFz ⇒ tanα = ⇒ tanα = = 0.04
Dm = cl
cl2 (2.5 × 106 )(200 × 10−3 )2
No sliding: xs = l


⇒ α = arctan(0.04) = 2.29◦
c. Derive an expression for the lateral force (based on l, c, µ, Fz , α) after sliding begins.

Solution:
The lateral force can be calculated as below:
Z l Z xs Z l xs
x cDm x2 l xs
⇒ Fy = cD(x)dx = c Dm dx + cDm dx = + cDm x = cDm (l − )
0 0 xs xs 2xs 0 xs 2

Inserting Dm from (13) gives:

µ2 Fz2
Fy = µFz −
2cl2 S

7
Problem 3: Side Wind Effect (10p)
The equations of motions in state space form of a front steered vehicle with mass of 1500 kg and inertia
of 2000 kgm2 is:
      
v̇ −17 −16 v 150
= + δ. (14)
ṙ 4 −22 r 120

a. Calculate the steady state gain of the side slip angle and sketch the gain versus velocity. If needed,
use the SAAB 93 vehicle data in Appendix. Comment the results.

Solution: The steady state side slip gain is defined as:

ma ma 2
b− V2 b− lC2 V
βssG = lC2 = 2 (15)
l+ mV 2 b
− a 1 + η Vg
l C1 C2

Using vehicle parameters from appendix the following side slip gain can be plotted.

Figure 5: Side slip gain

v
Using equation (14) we can get it directly by using the fact that β = V
      
β̇V −17 −16 βV 150
= + δ. (16)
ṙ 4 −22 r 120

−16 150
      
β̇ −17 V β V
= + δ. (17)
ṙ 4V −22 r 120

Since it is steady state β̇ = ṙ = 0 and it is possible to solve for the steady state gains.

 β
  −1  150

δ
17 16/V V
r = (18)
δ
−4V 22 120

Plotting this in Matlab yeilds the following result for the side slip gain:

8
 Figure 6: Side slip gain

b. Determine the rise time for the yaw rate response to step change in steer angle.
Solution: The steady state yaw rate is defined as:
V V
rss =  δ = 2 δ (19)
l+ mV 2 b
− a l + η Vg
l C1 C2

The derivative of the yaw rate at t = 0 is defined as:

 ∂r  C1 a
= δ (20)
∂t t=0 mk 2
The rise time is then determined as follows:
rss mk 2 V mk 2 V
tr =   =  =     (21)
∂r η a 2 + b − a C1 mV 2
∂t aC1 l 1 + gl V2 l C 1 l C2
t=0

Putting in the parameters from the appendix in equation (21) plotting tr versus speed leads to the
following result:

Figure 7: Rise Time

One can also solve the rise time using equation (14). The steady state yaw rate is given by solving
equation (18).

440
rss = δ (22)
73

9
 The derivative of the yaw rate at t = 0 can also be solved using equation (18), given that at the start
of the step steer input, r = v = 0,

 ∂r 
= 120δ (23)
∂t t=0

which leads to a rise time of:

rss 440
tr =   = = 0.05[s] (24)
∂r 73 · 120
∂t
t=0

c. This vehicle is going straight on the road and it is exposed to a constant wind force with effective
point of application 0.5 m behind COG of the vehicle. Find the required front steer angle (based on the
wind force) to keep vehicle on the straight path.

Solution: Using the state space form and adding the effects of the constant side wind:
        1 
v̇ −17 −16 v 150 m
= + δ+ d Fw . (25)
ṙ 4 −22 r 120 I

Vehicle driving straight leads to ṙ = r = v̇ = 0, leading to two equations where it is possible to eliminate
v and solve for δ:

(
1
0 = −17v + 150δ + Fw m
d
(26)
0 = 4v + 120δ + Fw I

 150 120  d 1 
+ δ=− + Fw (27)
17 4 4I 17m

17md + 4I
δ=− Fw = 6.0 · 10−7 Fw (28)
660 · 4Im d=−0.5

Additional comments:
This is a preliminary solution. Examiner will investigate this solution more.

10
Problem 4: Heavy Vehicle Steady State Handling (10p)
a. The steady state handling of a 3 axle heavy vehicle with tandem rear axle is defined by

l Wf Wr ay ∆2 Cαf
δ1 − =( − ) + (1 + ) (29)
R Cαf Cαr g lR Cαr

where Cαf = C1 , Cαr = C2 + C3 (and C2 = C3 ). Determine the equivalent wheel base, le , i.e. the
wheel base of a 2 axle vehicle that gives the same steady state handling behavior as the 3 axle truck with
Ce1 = Cαf and Ce2 = Cαr . Also use Figure 8 to give a rough estimate of le . The geometrical wheelbase,
l, is 4 m.

Figure 8: V- and R-handling diagram for 3 axle truck with linear tyres.

Solution:
The steady state handling of an equivalent 2-axle vehicle can be expressed as:
le ay
δ− = ηe . (30)
R g

Comparing this with (29) gives the equivalent wheelbase as below:

∆2 Cαf
le = l + (1 + ) (31)
l Cαr
To get a value for le the R-handling part of Figure 8 is used, so assuming R = 60 m, for zero lateral
acceleration it can be found that:
l
ay = 0 ⇒ δ − ' 0.005 (32)
R
Putting this into (29), for δ = δ1 one can write

1 ∆2 Cαf ∆2 Cαf (31),l=4

(1 + ) ' 0.005 ⇒ (1 + ) ' 0.005 × 60 = 0.3 m =⇒ le ' 4.3 m (33)
60 l Cαr l Cαr

11
b. Use Figure 9 to reason about under- and over-steer. How can they be defined mathematically (with one
expression)? Make a copy of the figure and show the areas for under- and over-steer. The characteristics
seen in Figure 9 are rather typical for a truck. What is the main reason for the non-linear shape (compared
to Figure 8)?

Figure 9: R-handling diagram for 3 axle truck with complex tyres.

Solution:

∂δ
Mathematically ∂V can be used as a definition for under- and over- steer. When the quantity is
R=Rc
positive the vehicle is understeer, and it is oversteer when the quantity is negative. The expression can
be used to find out about understeer and oversteer regions, as shown in Figure 10. The nonlinearity is
caused by the front and rear tyre characteristics. Traction properties are prioritized on most trucks (rear
drive). This results in stiff rear tyres for small slip angles. In addition, the roll behavior of the truck that
causes a significant amount of load transfer is also important.

12
 oversteer
∂δ < 0
∂V > 0
∂δ > 0
understeer
δ=(δ-l/R)+l/R

Figure 10: Under- and over- steer regions are shown in R-handling diagram.

Additional comments:
Figure 11 shows an example of tyre characteristics that lead to understeer for small slip angles and
oversteer for large slip angles.

Figure 11: Normalized tyre characteristics with handling diagram for a specific case of front and rear
tyre combination.

13
c. Figure 12 shows a tractor-semitrailer combination in a cornering manoeuvre. From figure, the following
geometrical relationships can be derived as
L1 X5w L2
δ − α1 + α2 = , θ − α2 + α3 + = . (34)
R R R
Assume linear tyres, Fyi = Cαi αi . Show that an articulation angle gain can be expressed as
2
LT V
θ L + KusT L1 g
= 1 2 , (35)
δ 1 + Kus1 LV1 g

where LT = L2 − X5w .

Figure 12: Bicycle model of tractor-semitrailer combination in a cornering manoeuvre

Solution:
In a steady state turn, the following relationship is satisfied

Fy1 Fy2 Fy3 ay V2

= = = = (36)
W1 W2 W3 g Rg
Fyi V 2 Wi
Assuming linear tyres (αi = Cαi = Rg Cαi ) and combining with (34) and (36) results in

L1 V 2 W1 W2
δ= + ( − ), (37)
R Rg Cα1 Cα2

LT V 2 W2 W3
θ= + ( − ). (38)
R Rg Cα2 Cα3
Dividing (38) by (37) gives
LT V 2 W2 W3 LT 2
θ R + Rg ( Cα2 − Cα3 ) L1 + KusT LV1 g
= L1 V 2 W1 W2
= 2 ,
δ R + Rg ( Cα1 − Cα2 ) 1 + Kus1 LV1 g

where Kus1 and KusT are

W1 W2 W2 W3
Kus1 = − , KusT = − .
Cα1 Cα2 Cα2 Cα3

14
Problem 5: Yaw Rate Feedforward and Feedback Control.
Consider a passenger car in constant speed cornering.

a. For linear steady state bicycle model, the steering angle can be determined as below
l ay
δ= +η (39)
R g
where l is the wheelbase, R is the cornering radius, and η is the understeer gradient. Assuming small angle
for yaw and small lateral velocity, use the linear steady state bicycle model to determine a feedforward
steering input proportional to yaw rate (with gain KF F ), in order to drive the vehicle on a reference path
with curvature κ, that can be expressed as

Y 00
κ= , (40)
1 + Y 02
where Y is the lateral position in global coordinate system, and Y 0 and Y 00 are the first and second
derivatives of Y with respect to X.
Hint: Assume that the side slip angle is negligible and direction of the vehicle movement is tangent to
the reference path, and start from writing a relation between yaw angle and path gradient. Also note
dx dζ
that dx
dt = dζ dt .

Solution:
Assuming steady state bicycle model, the feedforward steering input can be determined using (39), and
can be written based on reference path curvature:

l ay l V2 1 V 2  V 2  V 2
δ= +η = +η = l+η =κ l+η ⇒ δF F = κr l + η (41)
R g R Rg R g g g
From there, κr needs to be determined. Assuming negligible side slip angle, the yaw angle of the vehicle
would be equal to angle between horizontal axis and the direction of the vehicle. So the reference yaw
angle, ψr , can be expressed as a function of reference path:
dYr
tan ψr = = Yr0 ⇒ ψr = arctan Yr0 , (42)
dX

and using that, one can calculate ψ̇ as below:

dψr dψr dX d(arctan Yr0 )

ψ̇r = = = Ẋ, (43)
dt dX dt dX
where 
 Ẋ = vx cos ψ − vy sin ψ, if ψ  1 and vy small ⇒ Ẋ = vx = V

(44)
d(arctan Yr0 ) Yr00
= = κr


dX 1+Yr02

Inserting (44) into (43) gives:

ψ̇r
ψ̇r = κr V ⇒ κr = (45)
V
Inserting (43) int (41), the feedforward steering input can be written as:
l V
δF F = ψ̇r +η , (46)
V g
so the feedforward gain can be written as:
l V
KF F = +η . (47)
V g

15
b. If a steering actuator is installed on the vehicle that applies the feedforward steering input to the
vehicle, there will be discrepancies between the real and the reference vehicle movements due to the
simplifications in linear steady state bicycle model with respect to the real vehicle. Assume there is only
yaw rate information available to be used for feedback control. Determine a proportional feedback control
law (with gain KP ) to add to the feedforward steering input.

Solution:
Having the yaw rate signal/information available during the manoeuvre, yaw rate error can be calculated
and used to determine a feedback control value for the steering input as below:

δF B = −KP (ψ̇ − ψ̇r ), (48)

where KP is the proportional feedback control gain.

c. Given the second order differential equation for the yaw rate of the vehicle as in (49), analyze the
stability of your complete control design (feedforward + feedback) that includes results from parts (a)
and (b) of this problem, by applying Routh-Hurwitz stability criteria and comment on the feedback
control gain.

ImV r̈ + I (C1 + C2 ) + m a2 C1 + b2 C2 ṙ

1
C1 C2 l2 − mV 2 (aC1 − bC2 ) r = mV aC1 δ̇ + C1 C2 lδ.


+ (49)
V
Solution:
Using (46) and (48), the complete controller can be written as below:

δ = δF F + δF B = KF F ψ̇r − KP (ψ̇ − ψ̇r ) = KF F rr − KP (r − rr ). (50)

Taking time derivative of (50) one can write:

δ̇ = KF F ṙr − KP (ṙ − ṙr ). (51)

Inserting (50) and (51) into (49) gives:

1
ImV r̈ + (I(C1 + C2 ) + m(a2 C1 + b2 C2 ))ṙ + (C1 C2 l2 − mV 2 (aC1 − bC2 ))r

V

= mV aC1 KF F ṙr − KP (ṙ − ṙr ) + C1 C2 l KF F rr − KP (r − rr ) , (52)

that can be rewritten as:

1
ImV r̈ + (I(C1 + C2 ) + m(a2 C1 + b2 C2 ) + KP mV aC1 )ṙ + (C1 C2 l2 − mV 2 (aC1 − bC2 ) + KP C1 C2 l)r


V
= mV aC1 KF F + KP ṙr + C1 C2 l KF F + KP rr , (53)

that gives the characteristic equation as below:

ImV λ2 + (I(C1 + C2 ) + m(a2 C1 + b2 C2 ) + KP mV aC1 )λ

1
+ (C1 C2 l2 − mV 2 (aC1 − bC2 ) + KP C1 C2 l) = 0. (54)
V
Applying the Routh-Hurwitz criteria to (54), all coefficients must be greater than zero in order to have
stability. So it gives conditions below for the stability:

ImV > 0 (55)

2 2
I(C1 + C2 ) + m(a C1 + b C2 ) + KP mV aC1 > 0 (56)
1
(C1 C2 l2 − mV 2 (aC1 − bC2 ) + KP C1 C2 l) > 0 (57)
V

16
(55) is trivial. The other ones give:

I(C1 + C2 ) + m(a2 C1 + b2 C2 )
I(C1 + C2 ) + m(a2 C1 + b2 C2 ) + KP mV aC1 > 0 ⇒ KP > − (58)
mV aC1

1 C1 C2 l2 − mV 2 (aC1 − bC2 )
(C1 C2 l2 − mV 2 (aC1 − bC2 ) + KP C1 C2 l) > 0 ⇒ KP > −
V C1 C2 l
⇒ KP > −KF F (59)

Therefore based on Routh-Hurwitz criteria, it is enough to design proportional feedback control gain,
KP , so that it satisfies (58) and (59 ), to assure stability.

Additional comments:
However, achieving stability, does not necessarily mean that the performance is also as good as desired.

17
Appendix:
Variables:

~
V Velocity vector
~a Acceleration vector
~r Location vector
ω
~ Angular velocity vector
α
~ Angular acceleration vector
B, C, D Tire parameters
C Cornering stiffness
Fx Longitudinal force
Fy Lateral force
Vehicle Data SAAB 93 Fz Vertical force
µ 1 [-] I, Iz Mass moment of inertia
c1 16.90 [-/rad] K1 , K2 Gain, Suspension compliance factor
c2 24.67 [-/rad] Ku , η Understeer gradient (also called understeer coefficient)
Ci ci Fzi0 [N/rad], i = 1, 2 Mz Self aligning moment
g 9.81 [m/s2 ] R Cornering radius
m 1675 [kg] S Impulse
k 1.25 [m] VCRIT Critical speed
Iz mk 2 [kgm2 ] W Static load
l 2.675 [m] X Global coordinate
a 0.4 l [m] Y Global coordinate
b 0.6 l [m] Y, N Handling coefficients
ay Lateral acceleration
Notation a Distance from CG to front axle
b Distance from CG to rear axle
ISO coordinate system. c Lateral stiffness (per unit length of the contact patch)
d Distance, Lateral deformation
First and Second index: g Gravity constant
1 First axle
h Roll center height
2 Second axle 0
h CG height above roll axis
3 Third axle
k Control law gain gain
f Front
cϕ Roll stiffness
r Rear
l, L Wheel base
x x-axis
l contact patch length
y y-axis
m Mass of vehicle
z z-axis
r Yaw rate
Third index: s Half track width
0 Static condition u Control variable, Longitudinal velocity
v Lateral velocity
w Track width
x Distance in front of CG, State variable
∆Fz Lateral load transfer
Φ Slope of normalized tire characteristics
α Slip angle
β Side slip angle
δ Steer angle
λ Lateral deformation
µ Friction coefficient
θ Angle of articulation

18