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The enactment of FMVSS 126 requires specific safety performance in vehicles 4,536 Kg (10,000 pounds) or less using an Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system as standard equipment by 2011. Further, in 2012, the regulation requires vehicles that have undergone aftermarket modification to remain in compliance with the performance standard. This paper describes: • a brief overview of the standard and its implications • the collaborative approach used in the first successful approach in meeting that requirement by a lift kit manufacturer o a Hardware In the Loop (HIL) test alternative for establishing a reasonable expectation for a vehicle to demonstrate compliance after modification. • Collaborative challenges overcome: o aftermarket manufacturers seeking information sharing with OEMs and Tier One suppliers: o respecting the intellectual property of OEMs and Tier One suppliers o maintaining the integrity between tool competitors and their customers in cross-collaborative efforts

This article presents a methodology to apply Model-Based Design to develop and automatically optimize vehicle stability control systems. Such systems are employed to improve the dynamic rollover stability of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs). A non-linear vehicle model, representative of a midsize SUV, was built in CarSim®. This vehicle model is used in Simulink® to design a control system that reduces the risk of rollover. Optimization methods are then used to automatically adjust controller parameters to meet the system specifications that ensure the stability of the vehicle. Cosimulation between the two software packages enables rapid design and verification of control algorithms in a virtual environment. The results of the simulation experiments can be visualized through a 3-D animation of vehicle motion. The control system is adapted for the specific vehicle model, enabling it to remain stable under standard test conditions.

In 2008 the Australian National Transport Commission (NTC) published a reference document titled Performance Based Standards Scheme - The Standards And Vehicle Assessment Rules [1]. This document describes a series of testing requirements known as Performance Based Standards (PBS) to be used for certifying truck configurations acceptable for the Australia highway system. The PBS specification allows for both in-vehicle testing and numerical analysis using simulation tools such as TruckSim [2]. Several of the PBS tests require a Low-Speed 90° Turn, used to measure tracking behavior and tire friction utilization. This test presents an unusual simulation challenge because the driver is required to closely track a path with the outer sidewall of the outside front tire. A human driver must learn the response of the vehicle in order to steer it accurately through the test.

The increasing use and implementation of computer simulation in the vehicle engineering process has allowed for complex vehicles to be designed and tested in a virtual environment prior to a full-size vehicle being built. This approach is of particular importance in the commercial truck markets of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa where large truck-trailer combinations, often referred to as “road trains”, are becoming more common. Such trucks can carry more freight per vehicle; however their overall length and mass means additional safety standards must be in place to ensure a safely operating vehicle. To that end the National Transport Commission (NTC) Australia has been developing vehicle specifications called Performance Based Standards, or PBS. Performance Based Standards include specifications for longitudinal performance such as Startability, Gradeability, Acceleration Capability, and Tracking ability on a straight path.

Some of the best teaching methods are laboratory courses in which students experience application of the principles being presented. Preparing young engineering students for a career in the automotive industry challenges us to provide comparable opportunities to explore the dynamic performance of motor vehicles in a controlled environment. Today we are fortunate to have accurate and easy-to-use software programs making it practical for students to simulate the performance of motor vehicles on “virtual” proving grounds. At the University of Michigan the CarSim® vehicle dynamics simulation program has been introduced as such a tool to augment the learning experience. The software is used in the Automotive Engineering course to supplement homework exercises analyzing acceleration, braking, aerodynamics, and cornering performance. This paper provides an overview of the use of simulation in this setting.

The use of computer simulation of vehicle dynamics as a development tool has come into its own over the past few decades. “Simulated” testing on a computer makes possible a degree of control and repeatability that allows the automotive engineer to determine the influence of design variables on different aspects of dynamic performance in ways that would be difficult or impossible by experimental methods. One of the software tools receiving wide acceptance for simulating trucks and combination vehicles is Truck-Sim™. The attraction of this program arises in part from its foundation of truck modeling methods developed at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute over the past two decades, and the use of an advanced graphical user interface to make the software both easy to understand and easy to use by design and development engineers.

Heavy trucks with solid front axles commonly use steering systems that have left to right asymmetry. The asymmetry creates the potential to cause steering pulls during brake application which are by their nature undesirable since they require an input in the steering wheel by the driver to maintain the correct path of the vehicle. Brake forces acting in the tire contact patches create toe-out moments around the kingpin axes that are resisted by the steering linkages. However asymmetry of the linkage allows unbalanced toe-out steer angle deviations at the wheels resulting in a path deviation of the truck that is perceived as brake steering pull. The factors influencing steering pull include the compliance properties of the steering linkages, road wheel geometry, drag link geometry and spring windup properties. The mechanics of the brake force interactions with these steering and suspension properties are explained here.