Geometry and Linkage

Lecture 1 Day 1-Class 1

References
Gillespie, T., The Fundamentals of Vehicle

Dynamics, Society of Automotive Engineers, Warrendale, PA, 1992.

Design Principles and Analysis, Society of Automotive Engineers, Warrendale, PA, 2002.
Hunt, D., Farm Power and Machinery

Management, Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA, 2001.

Ackerman Geometry
o i

Basic layout for

passenger cars, trucks, and ag tractors o = outer steering angle and i = inner steering angle R= turn radius L= wheelbase and t=distance between tires

Center of Gravity

L R i o
Turn Center

Figure 1.1. Pivoting Spindle (Gillespie, 1992)

Cornering Stiffness and Lateral Force of a Single Tire

by the tire due to the slip angle. The cornering stiffness (C) is the rate of change of the lateral force with the slip angle.

Fy
(1)

V
Fy

Figure 1.2. Fy acts at a distance (t) from the wheel center known as the pneumatic trail (Milliken, et. al., 2002)

Slip Angles
The slip angle () is the angle at which a tire

rolls and is determined by the following equations: W f *V 2 f (2) Cf * g * R

Wr *V 2 r Cr * g * R
W = weight on tires
C = Cornering Stiffness g = acceleration of gravity V = vehicle velocity

(3)

Fy

Figure 1.2. Repeated

(Gillespie, 1992)

Steering angle
The steering angle () is also known as the

Ackerman angle and is the average of the front wheel angles o For low speeds it is:

L R

(4)
Center of L Gravity

For high speeds it is:

f=front slip angle r=rear slip angle

L f r R

R i t o

(5)

Figure 1.1. Repeated

(Gillespie, 1992)

Three Wheel
Figure 1.3. Three wheel vehicle with turn radius and steering angle shown

Easier to determine steer

angle Turn center is the intersection of just two lines

Pivoting Single Axle

Entire axle steers

Simple to determine steering angle

Both axles pivot

Only two lines determine steering

angle and turning radius Can have a shorter turning radius

Articulated
Can have

shorter turning radius Allows front and back axle to be solid

Figure 1.6. Articulated vehicle with turn radius and steering angle shown

Aligning Torque of a Single Tire

moment about the center of the wheel do to the lateral force.

M z Fy * t
Figure 1.7. Top view of a tire showing the aligning torque. Fy

(6)

V t
Mz

(Milliken, et. al., 2002)

Camber Angle
Camber angle () is

the angle between the wheel center and the vertical. It can also be referred to as inclination angle ().

Figure 1.8. Camber angle

(Milliken, et. al., 2002)

Camber Thrust
Camber thrust

(FYc) is due to the wheel rolling at the camber angle The thrust occurs at small distance (tc) from the wheel center A camber torque is then produced (MZc)

Mzc
Fyc

tc

Figure 1.9. Camber thrust and torque (Milliken, et. al., 2002)

Camber on Ag Tractor
Pivot Axis

Figure 1.10. Camber angle on an actual tractor

Wheel Caster
The axle is placed
Pivot Axis

some distance behind the pivot axis Promotes stability Steering becomes more difficult
Figure 1.11. Wheel caster creating stability

(Milliken, et. al., 2002)

Neutral Steer
No change in the steer angle is

necessary as speed changes The steer angle will then be equal to the Ackerman angle. Front and rear slip angles are equal

(Gillespie, 1992)

Understeer
The steered wheels must be steered

to a greater angle than the rear wheels The steer angle on a constant radius turn is increased by the understeer gradient (K) times the lateral acceleration.

L K * ay R

(7)

ay

Figure 1.2. Repeated (Gillespie, 1992)

Understeer Gradient
If we set equation 6 equal to equation 2

we can see that K*ay is equal to the difference in front and rear slip angles. Substituting equations 3 and 4 in for the slip angles yields:

K
Since

Wf Cf

Wr Cr
2

(8)

V ay g*R

(9)

(Gillespie, 1992)

Characteristic Speed
The characteristic speed is a way to

quantify understeer. Speed at which the steer angle is twice the Ackerman angle.

Vchar

57 .3 * L * g K

(10)

(Gillespie, 1992)

Oversteer
The vehicle is such that the

steering wheel must be turned so that the steering angle decreases as speed is increased The steering angle is decreased by the understeer gradient times the lateral acceleration, meaning the understeer gradient is negative Front steer angle is less than rear steer angle
(Gillespie, 1992)

Critical Speed
The critical speed is the speed

where an oversteer vehicle is no longer directionally stable.

Vcrit

57 .3 * L * g K

(11)

Note: K is negative in oversteer case

(Gillespie, 1992)

Lateral Acceleration Gain

of lateral acceleration to the steering angle. Helps to quantify the performance of the system by telling us how much lateral acceleration is achieved per degree of steer angle

V2 ay 57.3Lg 2 KV 1 57.3Lg

(12)

(Gillespie, 1992)

Example Problem
A car has a weight of 1850 lb front axle and

1550 lb on the rear with a wheelbase of 105 inches. The tires have the cornering stiffness values given below:
Load lb/tire 225 425 Cornering Stiffness lbs/deg 74 115 Cornering Coefficient lb/lb/deg 0.284 0.272

625
925 1125

156
218 260

0.260
0.242 0.230

Determine the steer angle if the minimum turn radius is 75 ft

L 105 / 12 0.117 R 75
Or 6.68 deg

Find the Understeer gradient

load on each rear tire is 775 lbs The front cornering stiffness is 218 lb/deg and the rear cornering stiffness 187 lb/deg (by interpolation) Using equation 7:
K Wf Cf Wr Cr

925 lb 775 lb 218 lb / deg 187 lb / deg 0.099 deg(/ g )

Find the characteristic speed

wheelbase and the understeer gradient

Vchar

57.3 * L * g K

57.3 deg/ rad *105in * 32.2 ft / s 2 12in / ft * 0.099 deg 404 ft / s 275mph

Determine the lateral acceleration gain if velocity is 55 mph

(81 ft / s ) 2 57.3 deg/ rad (105in / 12in / ft)(32.2 ft / s ) 0.099 deg/ g (81 ft / s ) 2 1 57.3 deg/ rad (105in / 12in / ft)(32.2 ft / s ) 0.391g / deg