Frequency Domain Sensitivity Analysis of Yaw Rate and Lateral Acceleration Response of Front Wheel Steering Vehicles

A vehicle's lateral performance and handling characteristics are most important while negotiating a turn. In this paper sensitivity analysis of lateral acceleration and yaw rate for front wheel steering vehicles is carried out in the frequency domain using the first order standard and first order logarithmic sensitivity functions. A simple two degree of freedom model is used for deriving amplitude ratio and phase angle for both yaw rate and lateral acceleration. Vehicle mass, yaw moment of inertia, front and rear tire cornering stiffnesses and distance from the front axle to the centre of gravity are the design variables considered. This study predicts that the strongest parameter is the location of the centre of gravity and the weakest parameters are mass and yaw moment of inertia.