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The research described in this paper aimed to study the cornering resistance and dissipation power on the tire contact patch, and to develop an efficient direct yaw moment control (DYC) during acceleration and deceleration while turning. A previously reported method [1], which formulates the cornering resistance in steady-state cornering, was extended to so-called quasi steady-state cornering that includes acceleration and deceleration while turning. Simulations revealed that the direct yaw moment reduces the dissipation power due to the load shift between the front and rear wheels. In addition, the optimum direct yaw moment cancels out the understeer augmented by acceleration. In contrast, anti-direct yaw moment optimizes the dissipation power during decelerating to maximize kinetic energy recovery. The optimization method proved that the optimum direct yaw moment can be achieved by equalizing the slip vectors of all the wheels.

Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) has been successfully utilized in automotive industries. CAE numerically estimates the performance of automobiles and proposes alternative ideas that lead to the higher performance without building prototypes. Most automotive designers, however, cannot directly use CAE due to the sophisticated operations. In order to overcome this problem, we proposed a new concept of CAE, First Order Analysis (FOA). The basic ideas include (1) graphic interfaces using Microsoft/Excel to achieve a product oriented analysis (2) use the knowledge of the mechanics of materials to provide the useful information for designers, and (3) the topology optimization method using beam and panel elements. In this paper, outline of FOA and application are introduced

A twist beam plays important roles in a trailing twist axle suspension. The cross-sectional configuration of the twist beam determines the performance of the suspension. The finite element (FE) analysis is usually utilized in order to evaluate the performance of this suspension. However, most automotive designers cannot directly perform the FE analysis because specific skills are required to achieve sophisticated operation. Moreover, the construction of the FE model also requires a large amount of time and task. In this paper, we propose a new methodology for the initial design of the trailing twist axle suspension in order to overcome these problems. This method includes (1) the interactive drawing operation for the cross-section, (2) the quick evaluation of the cross-sectional properties, and (3) the automatic construction of the twist beam stiffness matrix used in the kinematic analysis.