Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Technologies, Modeling and Control - A Mechatronic Approach

4Vehicle Dynamics Fundamentals

4.1 Introduction

Understanding the basic concepts and terminologies of vehicle dynamics is an essential prerequisite for studying the dynamic behavior of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. As such, this chapter briefly addresses the general topics of vehicle dynamics, including the fundamentals and terminologies of vehicle dynamics, vehicle motions, forces and moments, and the equations of motion.

4.2 Concepts and Terminology

A vehicle is a device designed or used to transport people or cargo. There are different types of vehicles including ground vehicles, such as automobiles, trains, and snowmobiles; sea vehicles, such as ships, boats, and submarines; air vehicles, such as airplanes and helicopters; space vehicles, such as spacecrafts and other types of vehicles such as, hovercrafts. Ground vehicles can be further classified as wheeled vehicles, tracked vehicles, skied vehicles, and railed vehicles.

Wheeled vehicles are the most popular type of the ground vehicles. Wheeled vehicles include: single body-multi wheels vehicles, such as cars vans, and buses; single-body two wheels vehicles, such as bicycles and motorcycles, and multi-body multi-wheeled vehicles, such as articulated trucks. The concepts, terminology, and modeling presented in this chapter can be applied to different types of vehicles, but are illustrated with four-wheeled automobiles.

4.2.1 Evaluation Criteria for Vehicle Dynamics

In order to compare vehicles, it is necessary ...