Development of a Scaled Vehicle Model for Dynamics Testing

Abstract

The interest in using scaled models for dynamics testing of prototype vehicles is growing due to the high demand for autonomous driving. In the early design phases, vehicle testing is done using computer simulations. Even though computer simulations are proven to be extremely helpful in designing prototypes, simulation models need to be validated using realworld testing. There are high costs involved in vehicle testing and it’s dangerous to conduct aggressive driving manoeuvres with real drivers. As a solution, researchers have used scaled models. To validate the computer simulations, researchers matched the scaled model test data with full-size vehicle prototypes considering the dynamic similitude. However, previous work was limited to the analysis of the steady-state behaviour of vehicles. To accurately predict the behaviour, the transientstate response must be tested as well. Therefore, this paper outlines the precursory work of a scaled model with the ability to test both states during vehicle manoeuvres. This paper is structured as follows. Section II presents related work. Section III elaborates on the mathematical modelling and present the results of the computer simulations. Section IV presents the scaled model which will be developed. Section V concludes the findings, and present the future work of research.