The Science of Vehicle Dynamics Handling, Braking, and Ride of Road and Race Cars ( PDFDrive )

The Science of Vehicle Dynamics

Massimo Guiggiani
The Science of Vehicle
Dynamics
Handling, Braking, and Ride of Road
and Race Cars

Massimo Guiggiani
Dip. di Ingegneria Civile e Industriale
Università di Pisa
Pisa, Italy
ISBN 978-94-017-8532-7 ISBN 978-94-017-8533-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8533-4
Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013958104
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Preface
Vehicle dynamics should be a branch of Dynamics, but, in my opinion, too often it
does not look like that. Dynamics is based on terse concepts and rigorous reasoning,
whereas the typical approach to vehicle dynamics is much more intuitive. Qualita-
tive reasoning and intuition are certainly very valuable, but they should be supported
and confirmed by scientific and quantitative results.
I understand that vehicle dynamics is, perhaps, the most popular branch of Dy-
namics. Almost everybody has been involved in discussions about some aspects of
the dynamical behavior of a vehicle (how to brake, how to negotiate a bend at high
speed, which tires give best performance, etc.). At this level, we cannot expect a
deep knowledge of the dynamical behavior of a vehicle.
But there are people who could greatly benefit from mastering vehicle dynam-
ics. From having clear concepts in mind. From having a deep understanding of the
main phenomena. This book is intended for those people who want to build their
knowledge on sound explanations, who believe equations are the best way to for-
mulate and, hopefully, solve problems. Of course along with physical reasoning and
intuition.
I have been constantly alert not to give anything for granted. This attitude has led
to criticize some classical concepts, such as self-aligning torque, roll axis, understeer
gradient, handling diagram. I hope that even very experienced people will find the
book interesting. At the same time, less experienced readers should find the matter
explained in a way easy to absorb, yet profound. Quickly, I wish, they will feel not
so less experienced any more.
Acknowledgments Over the last few years I have had interactions and discussions
with several engineers from Ferrari Formula 1. The problems they constantly have
to face have been among the motivations for writing this book. Moreover, their deep
knowledge of vehicle dynamics has been a source of inspiration. I would like to
express my gratitude to Maurizio Bocchi, Giacomo Tortora, Carlo Miano, Marco
Fainello, Tito Amato (presently at Mercedes), and Gabriele Pieraccini (presently at
Bosch).
I wish to thank Dallara Automobili and, in particular, Andrea Toso, Alessandro
Moroni, and Luca Bergianti. They have helped me in many ways.
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