A NOVEL APPROACH TO VEHICLE DYNAMICS USING THE THEORY OF A COSSERAT POINT AND
ITS APPLICATION TO COLLISION ANALYSES OF PLATOONING VEHICLES
P.C. Varadi, G.-J. Lo, O.M. O'Reilly and P. Papadopoulos
Veh. Sys. Dyn., 32, pp. 85-108, (1999)
Abstract
A fully three-dimensional, computationally inexpensive vehicular model is
presented. In constrast to traditional rigid body modes, the vehicle's sprung
mass is modeled as a (non-linearlt) deformable body. The formulation of the
equations of motion is based on a continuum theory known as the theory of a
Cosserat point. These equations largely preserve the relative simplicity of
rigid body dynamics but incorporate deformable features. The ease of computer
implementation permits the simultaneous simulation of vehicle and collision
dynamics of multiple vehicles and highway objects.
In this paper, the theory of Cosserat point is summarized and its general
application to vehicle and collision dynamics is illustrated.
A three-dimensional collision algorithm is discussed with emphasis on small
closing velocities (negligible residual crush, elastic rebound). The novel
model is compared to standard procedures.