Abstract
An accurate grasp of a road profile is important because an uneven road causes vibration, which affect the vehicle stability and ride comfort. In this paper, a cost-effective estimation method of a road profile from the measurement data is proposed. In the method, the estimation is performed with only inexpensive sensors that can be mounted on general cars. The road profile is estimated by using a disturbance observer and multibody dynamics analysis. First, the road profile is estimated with a disturbance observer based on a simple model. After this process, the road profile is corrected with an iteration process by using a multibody model based on a developed trailer by authors. In this study, the accuracy of the estimation method of a road profile was improved by considering the longitudinal tire force. In order to evaluate the effect of longitudinal tire force in the estimation method of a road profile, running simulations and running tests were conducted with the trailer. The result of estimated road profile was compared to the input road profile. The advantage of considering the longitudinal tire force was shown in the estimation method of a road profile.
