Practical Model for Real Structure and Performance of Heavy Vehicles

In this paper, a new practical model for real heavy vehicle structure is developed to investigate dynamic responses under steering/acceleration or braking maneuvers. The generalized six DoFs （degrees-of-freedom） nonlinear vehicle model M1 including longitudinal, lateral, yaw, vertical, roll and pitch dynamics is validated using the measured data reported in different studies. This model takes the CG （center of gravity） of sprung mass, unsprung mass and total vehicle mass into account. Based on this model, the effects of the inertia parameters on the vehicle dynamic responses are investigated for more comprehensive assessments of the model structure. Another nonlinear vehicle model 342 derived from M1 which assumes that the vehicle has a single CG as reported in literature is also developed. The dynamic responses of the vehicle model Mj are compared with those of the model M2 to demonstrate the performance potential of the proposed nonlinear model. The results of dynamic responses with the nonlinear vehicle model MI suggest that the model could offer considerable potential in realizing enhanced ride and handling performance, as well as improved roll and pitch properties in a flexible manner.