Racetrack Performance Testing using MotionSolve

John_Dagg_0
John_Dagg_0
Altair Employee
edited August 2 in Altair Exchange

Overview

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PREFACE

Physical vehicle testing is expensive and resource intensive. Vehicle modeling and simulation provide an efficient alternative which can be implemented earlier in the design cycle to understand a vehicle’s dynamics. Multibody dynamics software such as Altair MotionSolve allows users to set up and analyze a wide range of dynamic systems, including vehicles. Altair’s MotionSolve allows the simulation of a large selection of vehicle events to analyze vehicle performance parameters. These events can simulate real life testing performed at a proving ground or racetrack. Results can be used to refine vehicle design and improve occupant comfort.

INTRODUCTION

In this example, we will walk through the setup of a vehicle model with a custom road event, in this case a car racing on the Spa Francorchamps circuit. In MotionSolve, a vehicle model requires a vehicle with a driver, a tire model, and a virtual road. After building the model, we will demonstrate the results from the Spa Francorchamps circuit.

Pre-Requisite

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

MotionView (2024 or newer)

MotionSolve (2024 or newer)

MODEL FILES

Spa_Francorchamps_Circuit_Model.zip (See attachments)

Usage/Installation Instructions

MODEL SETUP

  1. Open a new session in MotionView.
  2. Under the Vehicle Tools tab, click assembly to create a vehicle. Use the default settings unless specified otherwise.
    Page 1: Full vehicle with driver
    Page 2: Front wheel driver
    Page 3: Front suspension – Front MacPherson suspension (1 pc LCA)
                     Rear suspension – Rear quadlink suspension
    Pages 4-10: Default options
    Page 11:     Click finish
  3. Update the tire properties.
    1. In the Model Browser, select the front tires under AutoTires > Tires.

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    1. In the Entity Editor, update the tire property file to the TNO_car205_60R15.tpf file included in the zip folder.
    2. Repeat steps i-ii for the rear tires.
  2. Add a road graphic.
    1. Select the Road Tools icon to create a road graphic.
    2. Select the spa.crg file and hit ok.
  3. Update the road graphic orientation.
    1. In the Model Browser, open the graphics dropdown and select the road graphic.
    2. In the Entity Editor, open the graphic marker selection menu by double clicking the three dots next to graphic_marker.
    3. In the popup, deselect only show entities within valid scope. Follow AutoTires > Markers > Road Reference Marker Front and select the left marker.

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  1. Create a velocity profile curve.
    1. Select Spline2D in the references section of the Model tab.
    2. Hit the play button to create a curve entity.
    3. Update the curve to reference the spa_car.csv.


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  1. Add a road event.
    1. In the Entity Browser follow VehicleTools > Events > Car & Truck and select RoadCourse.
    2. Select the RoadCourse in the Model Browser.
    3. In the Entity Editor, update the path profile to road centerline.
    4. In the Entity Editor, under road settings, change road selection to road file and update the road file to spa.crg.

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    1. Change the velocity profile to curve and the units to km/h.
    2. Update the velocity under velocity profile to the velocity curve idstring.

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SIMULATION STEPS

  1. The model is now ready to run. Open the run dialog, select an output directory, select run offline, and hit run. MotionSolve will run a static and transient analysis.
  2. After the simulation is completed, select results in the new window to view the animation. Alternatively, open run history next to the run icon, navigate to the model’s name, and select animate.
  3. A report detailing many vehicle performance metrics can be generated by clicking report in MotionView and selecting the run.

Post-Requisite

RESULTS

After the completion of the analysis, the vehicle’s motion can be viewed in HyperView. Outputs including steering angles, driver inputs, vehicle accelerations, shock displacements, and more can be plotted using HyperGraph. Many of the key performance indicators are automatically graphed by creating a report in MotionView.

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Vehicle Racing on the Spa Francorchamps Racetrack

imageVehicle Racing on the Spa Francorchamps Racetrack

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Spa Francorchamps Vehicle Position, Roll Angle, Steering Angle, and Yaw Angle

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Spa Francorchamps Vehicle Velocities & Rates

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Front Coil Spring Forces

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Front Shock Displacements

CONLUSION

In this article, we learned how to set up a basic vehicle model. Implementation of tire files, road files, and a velocity curve allowed the simulation of a racetrack event, in this case the Spa Francorchamps racetrack. After performing the analysis, the animation can be viewed, and a wide array of vehicle data can be plotted. The results can be used to inform design changes to improve vehicle performance and rider comfort prior to any physical vehicle testing. 

AUTHORS 

John Dagg, Systems Engineering Intern 

Christopher Fadanelli, Solution Engineer - Systems Integration 

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