Since the complexity of modern vehicles is increasing continuously, car
manufacturers are forced to improve the efficiency of their development process
to remain profitable. A frequently mentioned measure is the consequent
integration of virtual methods. In this regard, objective evaluation criteria
are essential for the virtual design of driving dynamics. Therefore, this
article aims to identify robust objective evaluation criteria for the nonlinear
combined longitudinal and lateral dynamics of a vehicle. The article focuses on
the acceleration in a turn maneuver since available objective criteria do not
consider all relevant characteristics of vehicle dynamics. For the
identification of the objective criteria, a generic method is developed and
applied. First, an open-loop test procedure and a set of potential robust
objective criteria are defined. Subsequently, suitable criteria are selected for
different vehicle dynamics characteristics based on an investigation of Pearson
correlations between the objective criteria and established subjective rating
criteria. For this purpose, a subjective evaluation study with six specifically
selected vehicle variants is conducted. Finally, the applicability of the
selected objective criteria for vehicles of different segments is assessed
through a benchmark of current vehicles. The results are objective criteria for
the vehicle characteristics driving stability, oversteer/understeer, and
traction. In contrast to existing objective criteria, the identified criteria
shows a high robustness to measurement noise. Furthermore, there is a
comprehensible correlation to established subjective rating criteria for each
objective criterion. Lastly, the benchmark of current vehicles proves the
applicability of the identified criteria.
