Abstract
In this paper we formulate an equation of motion of a four-wheel vehicle taking account of its suspension and steering geometry by applying the multibody dynamics analysis (MBD). In a control system design for active suspension or vehicle stability control, evaluation of the controller taking account of the geometry in the simulation based on the equation of motion obtained may reduce trial and error by iteration of the evaluation and the improvement in vehicle running tests. Also it may be possible to design the controller considering a nonlinearity caused by the geometry in advance. We carry out simulations based on the differential and algebraic equations of motion obtained from MBD and the simulation results are compared with those of the marketed software of dynamical analysis. It is verified that the equation of motion obtained is reliable to be used in the evaluation of the controller design.
