Handling analysis is performed in this paper to study the steady-state manoeuvres and stability characteristics of automobiles travelling in a tilted attitude of so-called jack-up or wheel-lift with a steady roll angle and with one side off the ground. The equations of motion are solved considering three degrees of freedom including yaw, roll, and lateral motion. A closed form analytical solution is obtained using the linear tyre model. And a nonlinear tyre model is developed and used in numerical computation to accommodate large slip and camber angles. The analytical solution is found to be close to the numerical results obtained using nonlinear tyre model, and thus can be used conveniently for qualitative study. The speed range is also found for road conditions with various friction coefficients. The derived nonlinear equations are linearized about the equilibrium points in order to find eigenvalues for studying the steady motion of the vehicle. Two chosen vehicles are compared on their handling characteristics and stability in a parametric study. (A)
Abstract