VDM RoAD User Reference Manual Version 1.0

007969851999Final Report December 1993-Novemeber 1997PDFTech ReportFHWA-RD-98-169DTFH61-93-R-00142Computer aided designHighway designVehicle dynamicsDesignHighwaysPlanning and ForecastingVehicles and EquipmentI21: Planning of Transport InfrastructureI90: VehiclesMichiganUnited StatesUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationSayers, Michael W.University of Michigan. Transportation Research InstituteTurner-Fairbank Highway Research Center. Office of Engineering Research and DelevopmentUS Transportation CollectionThe main objective of this project was to select among existing vehicle dynamics simulation programs and link them through a common database to commercial roadway CAD programs. The existing TruckSim and AutoSim technologies were selected and extended for this project to create a software package called VDM RoAD (Vehicle Dynamic Models Roadway Analysis and Design). VDM RoAD simulates the vehicle dynamics behavior of cars, trucks, and two-unit combination vehicles (tractor-semitrailers) on 3D road designs. The software runs under Windows 95 and Windows NT and shows results graphically with plots and animations. The software can be used by engineers who are not experts in simulation or even vehicle dynamics. The new software was developed with the intention of adding it to an interactive highway safety design model (lHSDM) that systematically considers safety of roadway and roadside design elements in creating cost-effective highway design alternatives. Although VDM RoAD is designed to work with other parts of the IHSDM, further integration is not recommended because most factors of performance that are of interest to roadway designers do not require vehicle dynamics simulation. This document describes the software architecture and provides instructions to potential users.82