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Between simplicity and accuracy: Effect of adding modeling details on quarter vehicle model accuracy
Ming Foong Soong1, Rahizar Ramli1, Ahmad Saifizul1
1Advanced Computational and Applied Mechanics (ACAM) Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Plos One
|June 16, 2017
Summary
Adding details to the quarter vehicle model significantly impacts accuracy. Road input and suspension damping details are crucial for a more fundamental understanding of vehicle dynamics and ride quality.
Area of Science:
- Vehicle dynamics and control systems engineering.
- Computational mechanics and numerical simulation.
Background:
- The quarter vehicle model is a foundational tool in vehicle dynamics analysis, widely adopted for its simplicity in ride dynamics studies.
- Existing literature acknowledges its limitations in accuracy compared to higher-degree-of-freedom models, but the precise impact of specific details remains largely unquantified.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the trade-off between model simplicity and accuracy in the context of the quarter vehicle model.
- To quantify the effect of incorporating specific modeling details on the accuracy of simulated vehicle responses.
Main Methods:
- Developed several enhanced quarter vehicle models by incrementally adding details related to road input, tire characteristics, suspension stiffness, and suspension damping.
- Compared the simulation results of these enhanced models against a base quarter vehicle model.
- Assessed the significance of each added detail on the simulated vehicle response.
Main Results:
- All investigated modeling details were found to influence simulated vehicle responses to varying extents.
- Road input detail and suspension damping detail demonstrated the most significant impact, fundamentally altering the simulated vehicle response.
- These specific details proved to be highly beneficial additions to the base quarter vehicle model.
Conclusions:
- Model accuracy in lumped-mass vehicle modeling is not solely determined by the number of degrees of freedom.
- The inclusion of specific modeling details, particularly road input and suspension damping, substantially enhances the accuracy and realism of the quarter vehicle model.
- These findings suggest a revised approach to balancing simplicity and accuracy in vehicle dynamics simulations.
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