An Effective Algorithm of Uneven Road Surface Modeling and Calculating Reaction Forces for a Vehicle Dynamics Simulation

Abstract

Computer simulations of vehicle dynamics become more complex when a vehicle movement takes place on the uneven road surface. In such a case two problems must be solved. The first one concerns a way of road surface modeling, and the second one a way of precisely determining a place of interaction of reaction forces of the road on the vehicle wheels. In this paper triangular irregular networks (TIN) surface was used for modeling surface unevenness, and the author’s algorithm based on the efficient kd-tree data structure was developed for determining a place of an application road surface reaction forces. For calculating the reaction forces including rolling resistance force the Pacejka Magic Formula tire model was used. The solution presented in the paper is computing efficient and for this reason it can be used in the in real-time simulations not only for a vehicle dynamics but for any objects moving over an uneven surface road.