Effective road profile control method for a spindle-coupled road simulator

摘要

A method for testing an automotive vehicle on a vehicle spindle- coupled simulator comprises the steps of driving a first vehicle over a test road surface, collecting spindle dynamics data from at least one spindle of said first vehicle, developing a first tire model for the first vehicle, estimating a road profile for the road surface based upon the spindle dynamics data and the first tire model, developing a second tire model for a second vehicle, coupling the second vehicle to the spindle-coupled simulator, and generating a set of control signals for driving the spindle-coupled simulator with the second vehicle coupled thereto so that a road response generated by the spindle-coupled simulator is consistent with the road profile. The method allows accurate testing of the second vehicle without driving it over the test road. The tire model is developed using system identification techniques.