Visteon Engineers Gain Valuable Insight Into Vehicle Dynamics

    DEARBORN, Mich., March 14 With the extensive research on
vehicle dynamics behind them and with new tools and programs in-hand, Visteon
Corporation engineers presented several chassis-related technical
papers at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2001 World Congress, held
last week at Cobo Center in Detroit.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001201/DEF008LOGO )
    In their paper, titled "Optimization Methods for IRS Axle Mount Design,"
Visteon engineers unveiled the new technology method they developed to design
improved Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) axle mounts.  In comparison to the
trial-and-error method most commonly used today to design IRS axle mounts,
Visteon's new approach uses both a commercial optimization technique and an
in-house, engine-mounted design tool.  This new method is faster, more
accurate and robust, and can improve design quality and productivity
significantly.
    Another paper presented at SAE, titled "Stability Control of Combination
Vehicles," described why stability control is needed for combination vehicles
-- in this case, car-trailer and commercial tractor-semi trailer combinations
-- and how stability can be improved using the Visteon-designed Combination
Vehicle Stability Program (CVSP).
    In studying various vehicle dynamics (pitch, dive, body roll or sway, yaw
rate, etc.) of combination vehicles, the engineers explained the dynamic
effects of trailers on the pulling vehicle, and vice versa.  Overall, the
movements and forces create "destabilizing" effects on the vehicle-trailer
combination, which often lead to unsafe driving conditions for occupants and
bystanders.  Research indicates that Visteon's CVSP can reduce substantially
the occurrences of dangerous combination vehicle behaviors, including jack-
knife and undesired oscillations of a trailer.
    Visteon Axle and Driveline Simulation-Dynamics (VADSIM-DYNA), a program to
help Visteon engineers predict driveline forces, was unveiled in their
technical paper, "Development and Implementation of a Tool for Modeling
Driveline Systems."  VADSIM-DYNA is proprietary modification of the ADAMS
(Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems) modeling code, a customized
computer-aided engineering (CAE) tool.  It allows engineers to determine how
various components of the driveline interact with each other and the full
vehicle before physical prototypes are available for testing -- thereby saving
both time and money.
    The research behind the technical paper titled "A Unique Approach to All-
Wheel-Drive Vehicle Dynamics Model Simulation and Correlation," also relied on
ADAMS modeling.  Engineers created an ADAMS vehicle simulation procedure in
order to correlate CAE results with real-world tests.  This allows for design
alterations to be made on a computer before prototypes are built, thus saving
time and money.  For this study, the ADAMS program allowed Visteon engineers
to derive meaningful results and make projections by correlating the CAE
results to with an All-Wheel Drive (AWD) minivan.
    Visteon Corporation is a leading full-service supplier that delivers
consumer-driven technology solutions to automotive manufacturers worldwide and
through multiple channels within the global automotive aftermarket.  Visteon
has 80,000 employees and a global delivery system of more than 130 technical,
manufacturing, sales, and service facilities located in 25 countries.