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We have developed a vehicle test system called the Vehicle Dynamics Simulator (VDS). The system measures the handling characteristics in a transient state in the laboratory. The automobile suspensions are moved as on a road with the machine providing relative motion by force transducer platform beneath each tire. The detailed measurements of transitive motions and forces given to the wheel clarify the kinematics and compliance characteristics contributed to the good handling performance and stability. This paper presents the system introduction and the results of analyzing the suspensions characteristics by the new analytical technique for breaking down into a variety of compliance components in a transient state.

With the progress of super computers in recent years, a number of studies on “Computational Fluid Dynamics” (CFD) have been carried out, and various schemes for Navier-Stokes equations have been presented. Similar methods have also been applied to automotive engineering - aerodynamics, for exampre - in order to determine flow phenomena. In this paper, the application of numerical simulations to the flow cavitation that occurs in some part of orifices in the vehicle hydraulic system, will be discussed. Authors have developed a CFD program for the clarification of flow phenomena in such orifices. Using the relationship between calculated results and measured results of noise levels in such orifices, a new method for estimation of the occurrence of flow cavitation has also been developed. As a result, a new orifice configuration capable of preventing the cavitation has been designed.