Course Summary

In this first part of Vehicle Dynamics, we illuminate the longitudinal dynamic aspects of vehicles.


Clear and brief: acceleration and braking.


In Detail: After an introduction, we will look at driving resistances and slip, explain the demand of power and limits of a car, then clarify the needs for a clutch and gears and look at the rear and front weights during acceleration and braking. The course will be finished by two applications from automotive mechatronics.

What will I learn?

By the end of the course you will …

• understand basic principles of accelerating and braking a car.
  


• know the driving resistances and their influences on vehicle dynamics.
  


• understand the discrepancy between demands and limits of powertrain.
  


• understand the necessity of gears and clutch.
  


• understand the correlation between braking, wheel load and recovery of energy.
  


• be able to calculate simple properties of a car.
  

What do I have to know?

Some basic understanding of the following subjects will help you successfully participate in this course: Algebra; Trigonometric Functions; Differential Calculus; Linear Algebra; Vectors; Coordinate Systems; Force, Torque, Equilibrium; Mass, Center of Gravity, Moment of Inertia; Method of Sections, Friction, Newton's Law, (Lagrange's Equation)

Course structure

This course has a total of 12 chapters, and the topics for each chapter are the following:

Chapter 1: Preliminaries

Chapter 2: Introduction and Rolling Resistance

Chapter 3: Resistances: Grading, Acceleration, Aerodynamic Drag

Chapter 4: Real and ideal characteristic maps

Chapter 5: Approximation of the ideal map: Clutch and transmission

Chapter 6: Driving performance and axle loads

Chapter 7: ABS: Anti-lock Braking System

Chapter 8: ACC

Chapter 9: Homework Solutions Chapters 1 -3

Chapter 10: Homework Solutions Chapter 4 - 5

Chapter 11: Homework Solutions Chapter 6 - 8

Chapter 12: Solution of the exam