Ride Handling and Braking

BAJA SAE-INDIA 2011 Workshop

SPCOE, Bhavan Campus, Mumbai, 23rd - 24th July 2010

Manish Jaiswal, PhD

John Deere Technology Center India (JDTCI, Pune)

 Terminology
Handling - more of a human judgment, based on the response or
feel of the vehicle over a range of driving conditions.

Stability - ability of a vehicle to perform in a manner consistent

with driver inputs or against disturbances over a wide range of
driving conditions. A directionally stable vehicle returns to a steady
state condition within a finite time, following a disturbance.

Braking - to convert the kinetic energy possessed by the vehicle at

any one time into heat energy by means of friction. Apart from
braking efficiency, stability induced by braking has become an
important parameter, determining the safety of a vehicle.

Ride - tactile and visual vibrations in low frequency domain,

experienced by passengers. Being subjective in nature its an
important performance parameter, determining the way ride quality
is perceived by the passengers.
Handling
 Vehicle Axis System - SAE

Bounce - the vertical displacement

Pitch - rotation about the Y axis Fig source - 8

Roll - rotation about the X axis

Warp - combined rotation about the Y and X axis
Yaw - rotation about the Z axis
 Steady-State Cornering
Steady-state cornering is concerned with the directional
behaviour of a vehicle under time invariant conditions.

The vehicle, in this case, will have two simultaneous motions –

rotation about its own CG and revolution around the centre of
turn, both at a constant angular velocity.

Main factors controlling the steady-state handling of a vehicle

are the weight distribution (including load transfer) and the
cornering stiffness of the tyres.

The steady-state cornering is mostly related with small values

of lateral acceleration.
 Slip Angle and Cornering Force
The relationship between lateral force or cornering force and
slip angle (at low slip) is linear and can be expressed

Fy = Cα ⋅ α

The slip angle α in a tire is primarily

because of its lateral deformation at the
contact patch. The tire moves along a
path at an angle α with the wheel plane.
Fig Source - 11

The coefficient Cα is known as the cornering stiffness and

represents the slope of the lateral force and slip angle curve
at α =0. The cornering stiffness of a tire is primarily dependent
on the load and inflation pressure.
Under-Steer Coefficient
δf - α f + α r = L w R

α f = ( Wf Cα f ) ( U 2 gR )

α r = ( Wr Cα r ) ( U 2 gR )

δf = L w R + K us ( U 2 gR )

Steer angle depends on the wheel base,

turning radius, forward speed, and the
under-steer coefficient.
K us = ( Wf Cα f - Wr Cα r )

Neutral steer - Kus = 0

Under-steer - Kus >0
Fig Source - 3 Over-steer - Kus <0
 Under-Steer Coefficient (Cont..)

Characteristic Speed

U char = 57.3L w g K us

Critical Speed

U crit = −57.3L w g K us

Fig Source - 1

Yaw Velocity Gain

r U Lw
=
δ 1 + ( K us U 2 57.3L w g )

Fig Source - 1
 Force and Moment during Cornering
During cornering, weight
transfer happens from inside
Fy
to outside tires
During braking, weight
ϕ h1 transfer happens from rear to
O front tires, while during
trf trf hf acceleration, weight is
transferred from front to rear.
FyL FyR

FzL Fig Source - 3 FzR

Load transfer can be found by equating the suspension roll moment with
moments generated by the vertical and lateral tyre forces.

1 h
ΔFz = ( Kϕϕ + Cϕ p )
2t r
(
- FyL + FyR
2t r
)
 Roll Center Height

Roll center can be determined by the intersection of the centerline with the
line joining the contact patch center to the instantaneous center.
The roll moment is determined by the roll center to CG height.
With suspension travel, the roll center is displaced or migrated.
Low roll center height leads to reduction in jacking forces.
 Vehicle Roll – Anti Roll Bar

Fig Source - 3

K roll f ⋅ (ϕ + ϕ wheelf )
Froll1 = -
The anti-roll bar forces at the front t rf
wheels can be expressed as
K roll f ⋅ (ϕ + ϕ wheelf )
Froll2 =
t rf
 Vehicle Rollover
Stages of Rollover

Pre-rollover – from the start of the

control loss to lift off
Lift off - airborne phase starting from
the wheel lift off to the body contacting
the ground
Roll phase - from the ground contact to
vehicle coming to rest
Fig Source - 7

Static Stability Factor (SSF = T/2H) is used to determine rollover propensity

Rollover is predicted if for sustained period of time, ΣF>W* (T/2H)
or if lateral acceleration α/g > T/2H
or if coefficient of friction μ > T/2H
Critical Sliding Velocity (CSV) is another estimate for rollover propensity,
which determines the minimum sideways velocity required for a vehicle to
just barely tip over
 Steering Kinematics

γ
Kingpin Axis
Camber Angle

Caster

Lateral
Angle ν
Inclination
Angle λ
η

υp

Scrub radius

Fig Source - 3
 Steering Kinematics (Cont..)
Camber – Results in lateral force development at the contact patch
Lesser force in comparison to the force generated by slip angle

Caster – Allows the wheels to self-center by generating a self-centering force

Positive when steering axis is ahead of the contact patch center

Steering Axis Inclination – Like caster, provides directional stability

Reduces steering effort by reducing scrub radius

Scrub Radius – Distance between the steering axis and

the center of the contact patch
Negative scrub radius helps in reducing
steering sensitivity to braking inputs

Toe – Compensates for the turning behaviour of a

cambered wheel
Easy to adjust as compared to caster or camber
 Ackerman Steering Geometry
The steer angle at the front wheels can be expressed in terms of the central
vehicle axis and its distance from the centre of turn.

trf 2 trf 2
δ1 ≈ δ 0 ⋅ (1 - ⋅ δ0 ) δ 2 ≈ δ 0 ⋅ (1 + ⋅ δ0 )
δ1 δ2 Lw Lw
1
2
If Pa is the proportion of Ackerman,
then δ1 and δ2 become:
a trf
2
trf
2 δ1 ≈ δ 0 ⋅ (1 -
( Pa ⋅ trf 2 ) ⋅ δ )
0
Lw
Lw

δ 2 ≈ δ0 ⋅ (1 +
( Pa ⋅ trf 2 ) ⋅ δ )
0
b Lw
δ2
δ1 δ0

3 4
trr trr
2 2

D
Fig Source - 3
Braking
 Brake Force

Td
Mb ω

VX
Td - (Fx - FR ) ⋅ rw
w

Mb = ro
Ktyre rw
I wheel ⋅ ω

Fxtyre Fzo FR Road
Fz Surface
d
Fig Source - 3

Apart from braking force developed at the friction element, the vehicle
experiences the retarding forces from the rolling resistance of tires,
aerodynamic and transmission resistance, and grade resistance at slope.
 Conventional Braking System
Driver presses the brake pedal.
The force from the pedal after being
multiplied by the pedal/lever ratio
reaches the brake booster.
The hydraulic or pneumatic brake
booster further amplifies it by a gain.
The booster exerts a force against
the piston in the master cylinder,
thus pressurizing the brake fluid.

The pressurized fluid is forced out of the master cylinder and into the wheel
cylinders, through the brake lines.
The flow into the rear brake cylinders is passed through proportioning valves.
The hydraulic pressure at the wheel cylinder is translated into the friction
pads, which eventually applies the brake torque at the disk / drum.
 Braking System - Vacuum Booster
Apply Chamber
Check Valve
Reaction Washer
Power Piston

Valve Springs

M aster Cylinder Pushrod

Seal

Return Spring Firewall

Diaphragm
Vacuum Chamber
Fig Source - 5

The vacuum booster located on the vehicle’s firewall acts like a force amplifier,
enhancing the force applied by the driver pedal by exploiting the pressure
differential between the atmosphere and the engine manifold vacuum.
 Master Cylinder and Friction Element
Master Cylinder
Seal
Secondary Piston

Primary Piston

Fout
Pmcs Pmcp

Brake Lines

Plf Prf Fig Source - 9

Wheel Cylinder
Brake Disk

Prr Plr

Master Cylinder Fig Source - 3

Split Circuit Braking System – required for safety

reasons so that if one circuits fails the other can function.
Fig Source - 10

Front/Rear Split – circuit is divided between front and rear axle, where the
primary piston connects the front and the secondary piston connects the rear.
Diagonal Split –the right front and left rear are connected by one piston while
the left front and the right rear are connected by the second piston.
 Brake Force Distribution
Proportioning Valve – reduces the pressure in the rear brakes so as to
prevent the rear brakes from locking before the front ones, during high level of
deceleration. The front brakes receives higher proportion than the rear ones.

Metering Valve – required when the vehicle has both drum and disk brakes.
As the disk brakes engage quicker than the drum brakes, the metering valve
does not allow the disk brakes to engage before the drum brakes.

Brake Force Distribution – to achieve optimum braking according to the

dynamic weight distribution. During high deceleration, If the front brake torque
exceeds the dynamic front weight, then it may lead to front wheels locking
before the rear. The opposite happens (rear locking before the front), if the
rear brake torque exceeds the dynamic rear weight.

Over the years, the advances in brake technology has led to development of
various active safety systems such as Electronic Brake force Distribution
system (EBD), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Brake Assist System (BAS),
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and many more…..
 Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)

μ-slip curve as a function of slip angle Typical ABS braking cycle

Fig Source - 6 Fig Source - 4

An ABS system would detect incipient locking at one or more wheels in time,
and react by modulating the brake pressure on individual wheels, so as to
prevent it from locking and keep the tyre slip within a desired range.
Ride
 Quarter Vehicle Model

Equation for sprung mass can be

obtained by balancing the suspension
and the inertia forces
Z0
- K ⋅ [z body - z wheel ] - C ⋅ [Wbody - z wheel ] - M sprung ⋅ z body = 0
Fig Source - 3

The unsprung mass forces include suspension forces, inertia forces of

wheel and tyre vertical load (after road excitation)

-K ⋅ ( z wheel - z body ) - C ⋅ ( z wheel - z body ) -K tyre ( z wheel - z 0 ) - C tyre ( z wheel - z 0 ) - M wheel ⋅ z wheel = 0
  

Fz
 Quarter Vehicle Model (Cont..)
For undamped system, equation of motion for free vibration can be reduced to

- K ⋅ [z body - z wheel ] - M sprung ⋅ 

z body = 0

-K ⋅ ( z wheel - z body ) - K tyre ( z wheel - z 0 ) - M wheel ⋅ z wheel = 0

The undamped natural frequencies of the sprung and unsprung mass can be
expressed as:
1 K ⋅ K tyre (K + K tyre ) K ⋅ K tyre
f sprung = ⋅ , where represents the ride rate
2π M sprung (K + K tyre )

1 K + K tyre
f unsprung = ⋅
2π M wheel

Overall, the quarter vehicle model can be used to a good effect for studying
the initial estimate of vehicle vibration in relation with the mass, stiffness and
damping characteristics, along with the realistic road inputs.
 2-DOF Model for Bounce and Pitch

The equation of motion for free

vibration for bounce is

- M sprung z - K f [z - ι1θ ]- K r [z + ι2θ ] = 0

The equation of motion for pitch is

I yθ - K f ι1[z - ι1θ ] + K rι2 [z + ι2θ ] = 0

Fig Source - 2

In comparison to the quarter vehicle model, this slightly detailed pitch plane
dynamics model could be used to a good effect for studying vehicle vibration
during coupled bounce and pitch motions.
 Human Response to Vibration

Fig Source - 2

Limits of whole-body vibration for fatigue or decreased proficiency in

vertical direction (foot-to-head), ISO 2631-1:1997
 Human Response to Vibration (Cont..)

Fig Source - 2

Limits of whole-body vibration for fatigue or decreased proficiency in

transverse direction (back to chest or side to side), ISO 2631-1:1997
 References
1. Gillespie, T.D. , Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics, SAE, Warrendale, 1999
2. Wong, J.Y., Theory of Ground Vehicles, John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, 2008
3. Jaiswal, M., PhD Thesis, The Interaction of Tyre and Anti-lock Braking in Vehicle Transient
Dynamics, School of Mechanical Engineering, Loughborough Univeristy, 2009
4. Bauer, H. Driving-safety systems, 1999 (Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart).
5. Gerdes, J. C. and Hedrick, J. K., Brake System Modeling for Simulation and Control,
Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control, Transactions of the ASME, Vol.
121, 1999
6. Austin, L. and Morrey, D., Recent advances in antilock braking systems and traction
control systems, IMechE, Part D, Journal of Automobile Engineering, Vol- 214, No-6, 2000
7. Transportation Research Board, NHTSA’s Rating System for Rollover Resistance, An
Assessment, Special Report No 265, 2001.
8. http://www.carsim.com/applications/education.php
9. http://www.familycar.com/Classroom/Images/Brake_Disk_Brake.gif
10. http://www.familycar.com/classroom/Images/Brake_Drum_Brake.gif
11. http://features.evolutionm.net/imageview.php?image=1537
 Thanks
JaiswalManish@JohnDeere.Com