Combining virtual simulation and physical vehicle test data to optimize automotive durability testing.

This thesis describes a project to model a vehicle on a computer with a multibody dynamics simulation software package and to combine that work with physical laboratory tests for the purposes of optimizing durability testing. The intention was to mirror as closely as possible the behavior of a physical vehicle on a road test simulator to assist in determining its durability characteristics under varying road conditions. This modeling work is important because, if done with sufficient fidelity, it can be used to assess vehicle responses using different suspension configurations or payloads. Also, problems associated with changes to a vehicle\u27s payload, structure and suspension systems can be observed on a computer without performing physical tests. The process has the potential to improve greatly automobile quality and durability, while dramatically reducing product development time and costs. The virtual dynamic vehicle model was assembled using computer aided drafting (CAD) models and ADAMS (Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems) software packages. Inputs to the virtual model were forces and displacements acquired from the responses of a physical vehicle and a road test simulator (RTS) during a durability testing cycle. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2002 .F47. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 43-05, page: 1763. Adviser: Peter R. Frise. Thesis (M.A.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2004