Integrated vehicle corner modelling for ride and handling development

Many of the factors that influence the handling and ride comfort of a vehicle are due to the fundamentals of the vehicle design. Attributes such as understeer/oversteer, impact harshness and shake will be largely determined by characteristics of the vehicle body and suspension components, and the interaction of these components. To design vehicles with good ride and handling, these attributes must be considered at an early stage of the vehicle development process rather than addressed as an afterthought. This is only feasible if appropriate models are in place prior to the availability of any representative vehicle hardware. The dynamic performance of a vehicle is heavily influenced by the non-linear behaviour of components such as dampers and tyres. This paper describes the development of whole-vehicle models for ride and handling development. The main corner system components have been represented using linear and nonlinear techniques based on FE models, neural networks, modal-domain models and simple lumped-parameter models. These have then been combined using ADAMS and Simulink to produce validated hybrid models suitable for the design of ride and handling attributes. Such models can be exercised using virtual test rigs and proving ground surfaces, replicating well-documented and understood test procedures within the model.