Hardbound. The computer-aided methods presented in this book represent recent advances in the methodology for predicting and evaluating off-road vehicle performance. The mathematical models established for vehicle-terrain systems will enable the engineering practitioner to evaluate, on a rational basis, a wide range of options and to select an appropriate vehicle configuration for a given mission and environment. The models take into account all major design and operational parameters, as well as pertinent terrain characteristics.Applications of the computer-aided engineering methods to the parametric analysis of off-road vehicle design are demonstrated through examples.

An updated edition of the classic reference on the dynamics of road and off-road vehicles As we enter a new millennium, the vehicle industry faces greater challenges than ever before as it strives to meet the increasing demand for safer, environmentally friendlier, more energy efficient, and lower emissions products. Theory of Ground Vehicles, Third Edition gives aspiring and practicing engineers a fundamental understanding of the critical factors affecting the performance, handling, and ride essential to the development and design of ground vehicles that meet these requirements. As in previous editions, this book focuses on applying engineering principles to the analysis of vehicle behavior. A large number of practical examples and problems are included throughout to help readers bridge the gap between theory and practice. Covering a wide range of topics concerning the dynamics of road and off-road vehicles, this Third Edition is filled with up-to-date information, including: * The Magic Formula for characterizing pneumatic tire behavior from test data for vehicle handling simulations * Computer-aided methods for performance and design evaluation of off-road vehicles, based on the author's own research * Updated data on road vehicle transmissions and operating fuel economy * Fundamentals of road vehicle stability control * Optimization of the performance of four-wheel-drive off-road vehicles and experimental substantiation, based on the author's own investigations * A new theory on skid-steering of tracked vehicles, developed by the author.

Terramechanics and Off-Road Vehicle Engineering will be of great interest to any professional engineer or automotive engineering student working on off-road vehicles. Reflecting the increase in off-road vehicle production and development—recreational, agricultural, construction, military—this book equips readers with all of the necessary knowledge to successfully design and model off-road vehicle systems, and provides a comprehensive introduction to terramechanics, the mechanics of vehicle/terrain interaction. - The only book to cover the principles of off-road vehicle and terrain engineering, a rapidly developing sector that includes SUVs, tractors and agricultural vehicles, military vehicles, and construction equipment - Covers the latest developments in the field, including the latest computer-aided methods employed in the development of new generation of high-mobility off-road vehicles in Europe, North America and Asia. - Ideal for professional reference and course reference by students, with new detailed worked design examples, case studies, and accompanying problems and solutions.

Featuring contributions from industry leaders in their respective fields, this volume presents comprehensive, authoritative coverage of all the major issues involved in road vehicle dynamic behavior. It begins with a short history of road and off-road vehicle dynamics followed by thorough, detailed state-of-the-art chapters on modeling, analysis and optimization in vehicle system dynamics, vehicle concepts and aerodynamics, pneumatic tires and contact wheel-road/off-road, modeling vehicle subsystems, vehicle dynamics and active safety, man-vehicle interaction, intelligent vehicle systems, and road accident reconstruction and passive safety.

A concise reference that provides an overview of the design of high speed off-road vehicles High Speed Off-Road Vehicles is an excellent, in-depth review of vehicle performance in off-road conditions with a focus on key elements of the running gear systems of vehicles. In particular, elements such as suspension systems, wheels, tyres, and tracks are addressed in-depth. It is a well-written text that provides a pragmatic discussion of off-road vehicles from both a historical and analytical perspective. Some of the unique topics addressed in this book include link and flexible tracks, ride performance of tracked vehicles, and active and semi-active suspension systems for both armoured and unarmoured vehicles. The book provides spreadsheet-based analytic approaches to model these topic areas giving insight into steering, handling, and overall performance of both tracked and wheeled systems. The author further extends these analyses to soft soil scenarios and thoroughly addresses rollover situations. The text also provides some insight into more advanced articulated systems. High Speed Off-Road Vehicles: Suspensions, Tracks, Wheels and Dynamics provides valuable coverage of: Tracked and wheeled vehicles Suspension component design and characteristics, vehicle ride performance, link track component design and characteristics, flexible track, and testing of active suspension test vehicles General vehicle configurations for combat and logistic vehicles, suspension performance modelling and measurement, steering performance, and the effects of limited slip differentials on the soft soil traction and steering behavior of vehicles Written from a very practical perspective, and based on the author’s extensive experience, High Speed Off-Road Vehicles provides an excellent introduction to off-road vehicles and will be a helpful reference text for those practicing design and analysis of such systems.

This book deals with the analysis of off-road vehicle dynamics from kinetics and kinematics perspectives and the performance of vehicle traversing over rough and irregular terrain. The authors consider the wheel performance, soil-tire interactions and their interface, tractive performance of the vehicle, ride comfort, stability over maneuvering, transient and steady state conditions of the vehicle traversing, modeling the aforementioned aspects and optimization from energetic and vehicle mobility perspectives. This book brings novel figures for the transient dynamics and original wheel terrain dynamics at on-the-go condition.

Terramechanics is the broad study of terrain-vehicle systems. In this book, all physical processes associated with the static and dynamic interplay between powered and tooled wheeled or tracked vehicles with natural and man-made surfaces are analysed and mathematically modelled.The focus of the book is the technical problem of predicting the p

Why is knowledge of soil stress and deformation state important for off-road locomotion? How do you measure soil stress and deformation under wheel loads? What are the actual values of stresses and deformation in soil or snow under a passing wheel? Providing answers to these questions and more, Dynamics of Wheel-Soil Systems: A Soil Stress and Defo

The powertrain is at the heart of vehicle design; the engine – whether it is a conventional, hybrid or electric design – provides the motive power, which is then managed and controlled through the transmission and final drive components. The overall powertrain system therefore defines the dynamic performance and character of the vehicle. The design of the powertrain has conventionally been tackled by analyzing each of the subsystems individually and the individual components, for example, engine, transmission and driveline have received considerable attention in textbooks over the past decades. The key theme of this book is to take a systems approach – to look at the integration of the components so that the whole powertrain system meets the demands of overall energy efficiency and good drivability. Vehicle Powertrain Systems provides a thorough description and analysis of all the powertrain components and then treats them together so that the overall performance of the vehicle can be understood and calculated. The text is well supported by practical problems and worked examples. Extensive use is made of the MATLAB(R) software and many example programmes for vehicle calculations are provided in the text. Key features: Structured approach to explaining the fundamentals of powertrain engineering Integration of powertrain components into overall vehicle design Emphasis on practical vehicle design issues Extensive use of practical problems and worked examples Provision of MATLAB(R) programmes for the reader to use in vehicle performance calculations This comprehensive and integrated analysis of vehicle powertrain engineering provides an invaluable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate automotive engineering students and is a useful reference for practicing engineers in the vehicle industry