Base Model Simulator (BMS) - A Vehicle Dynamics Model to Evaluate Chassis Control Systems Performance

Chassis Control Systems development methodology is nowadays strongly based on analyzing performance by using PC vehicle dynamics simulation. Generally, the overall design, test bench and road validation process is continuously accompanied by simulation. The Base Model Simulator was developed by the Vehicle Dynamics Group at the Department of Mechanics of Politecnico di Torino both to satisfy this requirement and for educational purposes. It considers a complete vehicle dynamics mathematical model, including driver, powertrain, driveline, vehicle body, suspensions, steering system, brakes, tires. The Base Model Simulator takes in account the suspensions system elastokinematics, including, for example, automatic computation of camber variation during the vehicle roll motions. Tire model considered are either Pacejka's models or experimental data. Particular attention was devoted to create a user-friendly Graphical User Interface, which permits to change the parameters and to make the model more complex/simple, according to the kind of test. The model can be easily connected to black box Simulink^® models of Active Chassis Control algorithms, as commonly requested by automotive manufacturers. The vehicle model was experimentally validated through road tests. Some experimental and simulation results are presented. Finally, several examples of applications of the model to develop Active Chassis Control systems are reported.