Road Vehicle Performance:

Introduction and Resistance

Principles of Highway Engineering and Traffic Analysis

By Fred L. Mannering, and Scott S. Washburn
Introduction
 Roadway design is governed by two
main factors:
 Vehicle capabilities
 acceleration/deceleration
 braking
 cornering
 Human capabilities
 perception/reaction times
 eyesight (peripheral range, height above
roadway)
Introduction
 Performance of road vehicles forms the
basis for roadway design guidelines
such as:
 length of acceleration / deceleration lanes
 maximum grades
 stopping sight distance
 passing sight distance
 setting speed limits
 timing of signalized intersections
Introduction
 Studying vehicle performance serves
two important purposes:
1. provides insight into roadway design and
traffic operations and the compromises
that are necessary to accommodate the
wide variety of vehicles that use
roadways
2. it forms a basis on which to assess the
impact of advancing vehicle technologies
on existing roadway design guidelines
Tractive Effort and Resistance
 These are the opposing forces that
determine straight-line performance of
road vehicles
 Tractive effort is simply the force
available at the roadway surface to
perform work (expressed in N)
 Resistance (expressed in N) is defined
as the force impeding vehicle motion
Tractive Effort and Resistance
 Three major sources of vehicle
resistance are:
 Aerodynamic
 Rolling (originates from the roadway
surface/tire interface)
 Grade or gravitational
Tractive Effort and Resistance
 Illustration of forces with vehicle force diagram

Ra = aerodynamic resistance in N,
W = total vehicle weight in N,
Rrlf = rolling resistance of the front
tires in N,
θg = angle of the grade in degrees,
Rrlr = rolling resistance of the rear
tires in N,
m = vehicle mass,
Ff = available tractive effort of the
front tires in N,
a = acceleration in m/s2.
Fr = available tractive effort of the
rear tires in N,
 Tractive Effort and Resistance
 Illustration of forces with vehicle force diagram

Fig. 2.1

Ff + Fr = ma + Ra + Rrlf + Rrlr + Rg
Rg = grade resistance
F = ma + Ra + Rrl + Rg
(W Sin g)
Tractive Effort and Resistance
 Newton’s second law of motion
Aerodynamic Resistance
 Can have significant impacts on vehicle
performance, particularly at high speeds.
 Aerodynamic resistance originates from a
number of sources:
 Turbulent flow of air around the vehicle body
(≈ 85%)
 Function of shape of vehicle, particularly the rear
 Friction of air passing over vehicle body (≈ 12%)
 Air flow through vehicle components such as
radiators and air vents (≈ 3%)
 Aerodynamic Resistance

An advertisement from 1930 showing the advanced aerodynamic

engineering of new cars
Aerodynamic Resistance
Aerodynamic Resistance

http://alohonyai.blogspot.com/2014/11/effects-of-winter-on-fuel-economy.html
Aerodynamic Resistance
 Based on these sources, equation for
determining aerodynamic resistance is:

Ra  CD Af V 2 (Eq. 2.3)
2
Ra = aerodynamic resistance in N
ρ (rho) = air density in kg/m3
CD = coefficient of drag (unitless)
Af = frontal area of vehicle (projected area
of vehicle in direction of travel) in m2
V = vehicle speed* in m/s
* V is speed of vehicle relative to prevailing wind speed (we
will assume wind speed of zero for purposes of this class)
Aerodynamic Resistance
Aerodynamic Resistance

http://craig.backfire.ca/pages/autos/drag
Aerodynamic Resistance
 Air density is a function of both
elevation and temperature.
  altitude,  density
  temperature,  density
Aerodynamic Resistance
 The drag coefficient is a term that implicitly
accounts for all three of the aerodynamic
resistance sources previously discussed

 The drag coefficient is measured from

empirical data, either from wind tunnel
experiments or actual field tests in which a
vehicle is allowed to decelerate from a known
speed with other sources of resistance (rolling
and grade) accounted for
Shape Effects on Drag

 The shape of an object has a

very great effect on the
amount of drag.

All objects in the figure, have

the same frontal area.

Some drag coefficients (source Wikipedia).

Aerodynamic Resistance
Aerodynamic Resistance
Aerodynamic Resistance
 As seen in equation 2.3, Ra is
proportional to V 2. Thus, this
resistance will increase rapidly with
increasing speed.

 We can develop an expression for

determining the power needed to
overcome aerodynamic resistance
Aerodynamic Resistance
 Power is the product of force and speed, so
multiplying Eq. 2.3 by speed gives:
𝜌
𝑃𝑅𝑎 = 𝐶𝐷 𝐴𝑓 𝑉 3 (Eq. 2.4)
2

Thus, the power required to overcome aerodynamic

resistance increases with the cube of speed.
 Rolling Resistance
 Refers to the resistance generated from a
vehicle’s internal mechanical friction, and
pneumatic tires and their interaction with the
roadway surface.
 Primary source (about 90%) of this resistance is
the deformation of the tire as it passes over the
roadway surface.
 Tire penetration/roadway surface compression
(about 4%)
 Tire slippage and air circulation around tire &
wheel (about 6%)
Rolling Resistance
 Factors affecting Rrl

 Rigidity of tire and roadway surface

 Tire inflation pressure and temperature
 Vehicle speed
Rolling Resistance
 Due to wide range of factors that affect
rolling resistance, a simplifying approximation
is used.

 Studies have shown that rolling resistance

can be approximated as the product of a
friction term (coefficient of rolling resistance)
and the weight of the vehicle acting normal
to the roadway surface.
Rolling Resistance
 Coefficient of rolling resistance (frl) for
road vehicles operating on paved
surfaces is approximated as:
(Eq. 2.5)

𝑉
𝑓𝑟𝑙 = 0.01 1 + with V in m/s
44.73
Rolling Resistance
 Thus, rolling resistance is approximated by:

Rrl  f rlW cos g

 However, since grades are often small, the
equation is further simplified by assuming
cos g = 1 (giving a slightly more
conservative estimate), yielding:

Rrl  f rlW (Eq. 2.6)

Rolling Resistance
 To determine power required to
overcome rolling resistance, multiply
the previous equation by speed, which
yields:
(Eq. 2.7)

𝑃𝑅𝑟𝑙 = 𝑓𝑟𝑙 𝑊𝑉 N-m/s

Grade Resistance
 Gravity, of course, can offer significant
resistance on inclines

 The grade resistance is determined

simply as the component of the vehicle
weight acting parallel to the roadway
surface
 Grade Resistance

Rg  W sin  g

sin  g  tan  g

Rg  WG
G = grade, defined as the vertical rise (Eq. 2.9)
per some specified horizontal distance
(Ex: 2%)
 Example 4.1
A 1130 kg car is driven at sea level (ρ = 1.225 kg/m3) on a
level paved surface. The car has CD = 0.38 and 1.84 m2 of
frontal area. It is known that at maximum speed, 50 hp is being
expended to overcome rolling and aerodynamic resistance.
Determine the car’s maximum speed.
Note: 1 hp=735.5 N.m/s and g=9.81 m/s2
 Solution 4.1
It is known that at maximum speed (Vm),

available power=RaVm+RrlVm
or
𝜌
available P= 𝐶𝐷 𝐴𝑓 𝑉𝑚3 + 𝑓𝑟𝑙 𝑊𝑉𝑚
2

Substituting, we have
1.225 𝑉𝑚
50*735.5= ∗ 0.38 ∗ 1.84 ∗ 𝑉𝑚3 + 0.01 ∗ 1 + ∗ 1130 ∗ 9.81 ∗ 𝑉𝑚
2 44.73

36,775=0.42826*Vm3+2.47827 ∗ 𝑉𝑚 2 + 110.85302 ∗ 𝑉𝑚

Vm=40.41 m/s
 Example 4.2
A 907 kg car has CD = 0.40, Af = 1.84 m2, and an available
tractive effort of 1134 N. If the car is traveling at an elevation of
5000 ft (ρ=1.057 kg/m3) on a paved surface at a speed of 110
km/h, what is the maximum grade that this car could ascend
and still maintain the 110 km/h speed?
Note: g=9.81 m/s2
 Solution 4.2
To maintain the speed, the available tractive effort will be exactly
equal to the summation of resistances. Thus no tractive effort
will remain for vehicle acceleration (ma = 0). Therefore,

F =Ra + Rrl + Rg

For grade resistance,

Rg=WG=907*9.81*G=8,897.67*G

For aerodynamic resistance, (110 km/h = 30.56 m/s)

𝜌
Ra= 2
𝐶𝐷 𝐴𝑓 𝑉 2 =1.057/2*0.40*1.84*30.562=363.27 N
 Solution 4.2 (Cont.)
For rolling resistance,

30.56
Rrl=𝑓𝑟𝑙 𝑊 = 0.01 ∗ 1 +
44.73
∗ 907 ∗ 9.81=149.77 N

Therefore,
F =Ra + Rrl + Rg

1134=363.27+149.77+8,897.67*G

G=0.0698 or a 6.98% grade