90373 - Ground Vehicle Dynamics M

Learning outcomes

This course provides basic concepts about the dynamics of ground vehicles. The students who attend this class acquire the necessary competencies to model, understand and analyse the dynamics of ground vehicles by means of the linearization of nonlinear models, determination of the associated modes and the analysis of their stability.

Course contents

Mathematical and computer science background

Definitions and operations with vectors and matrices; Matlab;

Description of the kinematics

Reference systems; Linear position; Linear speed; Rotation matrices; Euler angles; Kinematics of rotation; Kinematic constraints for ground vehicles;

Internal and external forces

Internal springs and dumpers; Aerodynamics; Gravity; Wheel Forces;

Description of the dynamics

Euler Lagrange equations; Kinetic Energy; Potential Energy; Derivation of the equation of the dynamics of ground vehicles; Definition of the oriented system; State space representation;

Readings/Bibliography

Mathematical background

[1] Meyer, Carl D. Matrix analysis and applied linear algebra. Vol. 71. Siam, 2000.

Description of the kinematics

[1] Beatty M.F. (1986) Kinematics of Rigid Body Motion. In: Principles of Engineering Mechanics. Mathematical Concepts and Methods in Science and Engineering, vol 32. Springer, Boston, MA

[2] Gross D., Ehlers W., Wriggers P., Schröder J., Müller R. (2017) Kinematics of Rigid Bodies. In: Dynamics – Formulas and Problems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

[3] Waldron K.J., Schmiedeler J. (2016) Kinematics. In: Siciliano B., Khatib O. (eds) Springer Handbook of Robotics. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32552-1_2

[4] Olguin Diaz, Ernesto (2019) 3D Motion of Rigid Bodies: A Foundation for Robot Dynamics Analysis. Springer International Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-04275-2

Internal and external forces

[1] Gillespie, Thomas D. Fundamentals of vehicle dynamics. Vol. 400. Warrendale, PA: Society of automotive engineers, 1992.

[2] Milliken, William F., and Douglas L. Milliken. Race car vehicle dynamics. Vol. 400. Warrendale: Society of Automotive Engineers, 1995.

Description of the dynamics

[1] Gelfand, Izrail Moiseevitch, and Richard A. Silverman. Calculus of variations. Courier Corporation, 2000.

[2] Amirouche, Farid. Fundamentals of multibody dynamics: theory and applications. Springer Science & Business Media, 2007.

[3] Friedland, Bernard. Control system design: an introduction to state-space methods. Courier Corporation, 2012.

[4] Pila, Aron Wolf (2020) Introduction To Lagrangian Dynamics. Springer International Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-22378-6

Teaching methods

Blackboard, Electronic Board, Microsoft Teams, Computer Simulations

Assessment methods

The exam consists of a group (max 3 students) project in which the students model the dynamics of an automotive system. The group must provide a technical report and the simulator on which the proposed solution is tested. The project is developed in tight collaboration with the teacher in agreement with a recursive "submit and review" process.

The exam is a satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading.

To pass the exam the students must know the good practices to model the dynamics of automotive systems.

Attendance is not necessary to take the exam.

Teaching tools

Lecture notes, listings

Office hours

See the website of Nicola Mimmo