The Influence of the Body Inertia Tensor on the Active Safety and Ride Comfort of Road Vehicles

By means of two different multi-body models representing road vehicles, the influence of each component of the body inertia tensor on ride comfort and active safety is studied. The aim of the theoretical investigation is assessing and prescribing the measurement accuracy of the inertia tensor components. A new method for measuring the inertia tensor of vehicles is presented. A new test rig, meeting the accuracy determined on the basis of the preliminary theoretical study, has been built.

From both theoretical and experimental analysis it appears that the inertia tensor influences considerably the body vibrations when the road vehicle traverses a rough road.