A Comparison of Moment of Inertia Estimation Techniques for Vehicle Dynamics Simulation

The moments of inertia, in yaw, pitch, and roll, as well as the center of gravity height are necessary to successfully model the 3D dynamic behavior of vehicles before, during and after collision. A number of vehicle parameter estimation techniques have been developed and are currently in use in North America and Europe. Many parameters have been measured by NHTSA and others. The estimation techniques are compared to the available measured values, and recommendations are made for best estimating the parameters when measured values are not available. The sensitivity of 3D vehicle collision dynamics and trajectory simulation to variance in the moment of inertia is demonstrated.