Citation

Starkey JM. Int. J. Veh. Des. 1992; 13(5-6): 449-458.

Affiliation

Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Inderscience Publishers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The equations governing the longitudinal motion of a vehicle are derived, including rolling resistance, drag, lift, and grade effects. By assuming that the drive wheels are at the traction limit, the equations can be coupled and solved closed-form for the traction-limited acceleration, in terms of drag, grade, and vehicle parameters. Inspection of the resulting equation shows that acceleration is a linear function of drag, with grade as a parameter. Maximum level-ground acceleration, top speed, and maximum grade capability are found to be special cases of the general resulting equation. The effects of the location of the centre of gravity, centre of pressure, and choice of drive wheels (front or rear) on traction-limited performance are discussed. Graphical interpretations of the vehicle force balances are also included.