What is the course about?
Course Summary
In this third part of Vehicle Dynamics, we will illuminate the vertical dynamic aspects of vehicles. In short, we will describe the elements involved when a car drives on a bumpy or rough street.
We will start with a survey of suspensions and springs and dampers. After this, we will explain the description of rough streets and give an introduction to Fourier integrals. Next, we will take a closer look at vertical models. In the last fundamental part of the course, we will describe the conflict between driving safety and comfort. The course will be finished with two applications from automotive mechatronics.
What will I learn?
At the end of the course you will …
- know different kinds of suspensions, springs and dampers.
- know the description of rough and bumpy streets.
- understand the Fourier integral.
- understand the conflict between driving safety and comfort.
- be able to calculate simple properties of a car.
What do I have to know?
Some basic understanding of the following subjects will help you successfully participate in this course:
Algebra; Trigonometric Functions; Differential Calculus; Linear Algebra; Vectors; Coordinate Systems; Force, Torque, Equilibrium; Mass, Center of Gravity, Moment of Inertia; Method of Sections, Friction, Newton's Law, (Lagrange's Equation)
Course structure
This course has a total of 11 chapters, and the topics for each chapter are the following:
Chapter 1: Overview
Chapter 2: Damped Oscillator
Chapter 3: Fourier integral
Chapter 4: Conflict: Comfort vs. Safety I
Chapter 5: Conflict: Comfort vs. Safety II
Chapter 6: Ideal active system and skyhook damper principle
Chapter 7: Vibration absorber in powertrains
Chapter 8: Models and nonlinearities
Chapter 9: Homework solutions of chapter 1, 2 and 3
Chapter 10: Homework solutions of chapter 4, 5 and 6
Chapter 11: Homework solutions of chapter 7 and 8
Exam for the Certificate Track users: 17.07-31.07.2016 (exam period has been pushed forward)
Course instructors
Martin Meywerk
Martin Meywerk is a full professor for Automotive Engineering at the Helmut-Schmidt-University in Hamburg since 2002 and dean of the faculty of Mechanical Engineering since 2014. He gives lectures in vehicle dynamics, automotive mechatronics, computer aided engineering (CAE) and optimization. In research his focus is on dynamic behaviour of vehicles and tyres, driving simulators and CAE-methods in automotive engineering. In the past he had research projects with Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Bast and other companies. He has published several papers and one book. From 1997 to 2002 he was employed at Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg in research and development where he improved CAE methods, from 2000 to 2002 he was lecturer for engineering mechanics and analytical mechanics at the Technical University Braunschweig (TUBS). He was a research assistant at TUBS from 1990 to 1996, where he wrote his Ph.D.-thesis at the institute of engineering mechanics. From 1985 to 1990 he studied Physics and Mathematics at TUBS supported by the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes.
