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Chapter 2: Road Vehicle Performance

This document discusses road vehicle performance and the key factors that determine a vehicle's straight-line performance: tractive effort and resistance. There are three major sources of resistance - aerodynamic, rolling, and grade (gravitational). It provides equations to calculate the forces of resistance and examples of how to determine a vehicle's maximum speed and grade it can ascend given specific parameters.

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2K views

Chapter 2: Road Vehicle Performance

This document discusses road vehicle performance and the key factors that determine a vehicle's straight-line performance: tractive effort and resistance. There are three major sources of resistance - aerodynamic, rolling, and grade (gravitational). It provides equations to calculate the forces of resistance and examples of how to determine a vehicle's maximum speed and grade it can ascend given specific parameters.

Uploaded by

Buoyancy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 2: Road Vehicle Performance

 
Two Important Functions:
 
1. Provides insight into highway design and traffic
operations and the compromises that are necessary
to accommodate the wide variety of vehicles (from
high-powered sports car to heavily ladened trucks)
that use highways.
 
2. Forms a basis on which to assess the impact of
advancing vehicle technologies on existing highway
design guidelines.
Tractive Effort and Resistance – are two
primary opposing forces that determine the
straight-line performance of road vehicles.
 
Tractive effort – is simply the force available at
the roadway surface to perform work.
Resistance – is defined as the force impeding
vehicle motion.
Three Major Sources of Vehicle Resistance
 
1. Aerodynamic Resistance
2. Rolling Resistance
3. Grade or Gravitational Resistance
Ff  Fr  ma  Ra  Rrlf  Rrlr  Rg
Ra = is the aerodynamic resistance.
Rrlf = is the rolling resistance of the front tires.
Rrlr = is the rolling resistance of the rear tires.
Ff = is the available tractive effort of the front tire.
Fr = is the available tractive effort of the rear tire.
W = is the total vehicle weight.
θg = is the angle of the grade in degrees.
m = is the vehicle mass in kilograms.
a = is the rate of acceleration in m/s2.
Rg = is the grade resistance = Wsin θg.
For exposition purposes:
 
F = Ff + F r
Rrl = Rrlf + Rrlr
 
Therefore:
F  ma  Ra  Rrl  Rg
Aerodynamic Resistance, Ra = is a resistive force
that can have significant impacts on vehicle
performance.

Ra  2
CD Af V
2
Where: ρ = is the air density in kg/m3.
CD = is the coefficient of drag.
Af = is the frontal area of the vehicle
(projected area of the vehicle in the direction of
travel) in m2.
V = is the speed of vehicle in m/s.
The power required to overcome aerodynamic
resistance:

PRa  3
CD Af V
2
Rolling Resistance, Rrl = refers to the resistance
generated from a vehicle’s internal mechanical
friction, and pneumatic tires and their interaction
with the roadway surface.
 V 
f rl  0.011  
 44.73 
Where: frl = coefficient of rolling resistance.
V = is the vehicle’s speed in m/s.
Rrl = frlW
 
The power required to overcome rolling resistance:
PRrl  f rlWV
Example Problem:
 
An 11.0-kN car is driven at sea level (ρ = 1.2256
kg/m3) on a paved surface and has CD = 0.38 and
2.0 m2 of frontal area. It is known that at maximum
speed, 38 kW are being expended to overcome
rolling and aerodynamic resistance. Determine the
car’s maximum speed.
Grade Resistance, Rg = is simply the gravitational
force acting on a vehicle.
R g  W sin  g
Rg  W tan  g  WG

Where: G = is the grade defined as the vertical


rise per some specified horizontal distance
normally expressed in percent.
Example Problem:
 
An 8.9-kN car is traveling at an elevation of 1500 m
(ρ = 1.0567 kg/m3) on a paved surface. If the car is
traveling at 110 km/h and has CD = 0.40 and Af = 2.0
m2 and the available tractive effort is 1135 N, what
is the maximum grade that this car could ascend
and still maintain the 110 km/h speed?
Practical Stopping Distance
V12
d
2 g ( f  G)

Where: d = is the deceleration distance (practical


stopping distance) in meters.
V1 = is the initial vehicle speed in m/s.
f = is the coefficient of friction.
G = is the grade in percent.
Distance Traveled During Perception/Reaction
 
ds = dp + d
 
Where: ds = is the total stopping distance
(including perception/reaction)
dp = distance traveled during
perception/reaction.
dp = V1tp
tp = is the time required to perceive and react
to the need to stop (conservatively determined to
be 2.5 seconds.
Example Problem:
 
Two drivers have reaction times of 2.5 seconds.
One is obeying a 90-km/h speed limit and the other
is traveling illegally at 120 km/h. How much
distance will each of the drivers cover while
perceiving/reacting to the need to stop and what
will the total stopping distance be for each driver
(using practical stopping distance and assuming G =
-2.5% and f = 0.45)?

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