DRIVER STEERING MODEL AND IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUE OF VEHICLE MOVEMENT PERFORMANCE DURING DRIFT RUNNING

H. NOZAKI 한국자동차공학회 2006 International journal of automotive technology Vol.7 No.4

The driver model during drift cornering was examined, and a technique to improve vehicle movement performance during drift cornering was investigated. Based on the results obtained, the driver was found to steer using feedback of the body slip angle and the body slip angle velocity during drift cornering. Moreover, improvement of the cornering force characteristic, at which exceeded the maximum cornering force calm as much as possible is important.

TECHNIQUE OF SEPARATE MEASURING SIDE SLIP FOR TOE ANGLE AND CAMBER ANGLE

Nozaki, H. The Korean Society of Automotive Engineers 2006 International journal of automotive technology Vol.7 No.6

The current flat type side slip tester measures only the total side slip. Therefore, measurement techniques which can be used to determine the side slip for each alignment element were examined. Because the side slip related to the camber angle varies depending on the unit load per travel wheel while the side slip related to the toe angle does not on the unit per travel wheel, but depends only on the direction of the tire, the side slip for each alignment element can be determined separately.

CONSIDERATION CONCERNING IMPROVEMENT OF EMERGENCY EVASION PERFORMANCE

H. NOZAKI 한국자동차공학회 2006 International journal of automotive technology Vol.7 No.2

When emergency evasion during running is required, a driver sometimes causes a vehicle to drift, that is, a condition in which the rear wheels skid due to rapid steering. Under such conditions, the vehicle enters a very unstable state and often becomes uncontrollable. An unstable state of the vehicle induced by rapid steering was simulated and the effect of differential steering assistance was examined. Results indicate that, in emergency evasion while cornering and during which the vehicle begins to drift, unstable behavior like spins can be avoided by differential steering assistance and both the stability and control of the vehicle is improved remarkably. In addition, reduction of overshoot during spin evasion by the differential steering assistance has been shown to enable the vehicle to return to a state of stability in a short time in emergency evasion during straight-line running. Moreover, the effectiveness of differential steering assistance during emergency evasion was confirmed using a driving simulator.

TECHNIQUE OF SEPARATE MEASURING SIDE SLIP FOR TOE ANGLE AND CAMBER ANGLE

H. NOZAKI 한국자동차공학회 2006 International journal of automotive technology Vol.7 No.6

The current flat type side slip tester measures only the total side slip. Therefore, measurement techniques which can be used to determine the side slip for each alignment element were examined. Because the side slip related to the camber angle varies depending on the unit load per travel wheel while the side slip related to the toe angle does not on the unit per travel wheel, but depends only on the direction of the tire, the side slip for each alignment element can be determined separately.

PROPER PD STEERING ASSISTANCE CONSTANT BASED ON THE DRIVING SITUATION

H. NOZAKI,M. MAKITA,T. MASUKAWA 한국자동차공학회 2011 International journal of automotive technology Vol.12 No.4

Proportional derivative (PD) steering assistance can greatly improve the control stability of a vehicle. However, for all PD steering methods, the discomfort associated with the need to continuously turn the steering wheel during cornering is significant. Because the steering return phenomenon of the steering wheel stop like this is not preferable, PD steering assistance should be extremely weak (almost 0) during normal cornering. Alternatively, during drift cornering, during which the grip area of the tires is exceeded, PD steering assistance is helpful because the driver has good control over countersteering. Moreover, the use of PD steering assistance is preferable during lane changes because the response and settling of a vehicle is greatly improved when PD steering assistance is used. Based on these considerations, a previous report examined steering method controls in which the PD steering assistance constant was incorporated along with the drivers’ perception changes in certain driving situations. This study aimed to determine a suitable PD steering assistance constant in relation to the driving situation. A proper PD steering assistance constant was found to exist for specific driving situations. Based on the results of gaze detection using an eye mark recorder, the study was able to reduce the right and left difference of the gaze at the driver by controlling PD steering assistance using a proper PD steering assistance constant for various driving situations.

CONSIDERATIONS CONCERNING IMPROVEMENT OF EMERGENCY EVASION PERFORMANCE

H. NOZAKI 한국자동차공학회 2006 International journal of automotive technology Vol.7 No.2

When emergency evasion during running is required, a driver sometimes causes a vehicle to drift, that is, a condition in which the rear wheels skid due to rapid steering. Under such conditions, the vehicle enters a very unstable state and often becomes uncontrollable. An unstable state of the vehicle induced by rapid steering was simulated and the effect of differential steering assistance was examined. Results indicate that, in emergency evasion while cornering and during which the vehicle begins to drift, unstable behavior like spins can be avoided by differential steering assistance and both the stability and control of the vehicle is improved remarkably. In addition, reduction of overshoot during spin evasion by the differential steering assistance has been shown to enable the vehicle to return to a state of stability in a short time in emergency evasion during straight-line running. Moreover, the effectiveness of differential steering assistance during emergency evasion was confirmed using a driving simulator.

INFLUENCE OF PROVIDING BODY SENSORY INFORMATION AND VISUAL INFORMATION TO DRIVER ON STEER CHARACTERISTICS AND AMOUNT OF PERSPIRATION IN DRIFT CORNERING

NOZAKI H. The Korean Society of Automotive Engineers 2006 International journal of automotive technology Vol.7 No.1

Driving simulations were performed to evaluate the effect of providing both visual information and body sensory information on changes in steering characteristics and the amount of perspiration in drift cornering. When the driver is provided with body sensory information and visual information, the amount of perspiration increases and the driver can perform drift control with a moderate level of tension. With visual information only, the driver tends to easily go into a spin because drift control is difficult. In this case, the amount of perspiration increases greatly as compared with the case where body sensory information is also provided, reflecting a very high perception of risk. When body sensory information is provided, the driver can control drift adequately, feeding back the roll angle information in steering. The importance of the driver's perception of the state of the vehicle was thus confirmed, and a desirable future direction for driver assistance systems was determined.

INFLUENCE OF PROVIDING BODY SENSORY INFORMATION AND VISUAL INFORMATION TO DRIVER ON STEER CHARACTERISTICS AND AMOUNT OF PERSPIRATION IN DRIFT CORNERING

H. NOZAKI 한국자동차공학회 2006 International journal of automotive technology Vol.7 No.1

Driving simulations were performed to evaluate the effect of providing both visual information and body sensory information on changes in steering characteristics and the amount of perspiration in drift cornering. When the driver is provided with body sensory information and visual information, the amount of perspiration increases and the driver can perform drift control with a moderate level of tension. With visual information only, the driver tends to easily go into a spin because drift control is difficult. In this case, the amount of perspiration increases greatly as compared with the case where body sensory information is also provided, reflecting a very high perception of risk. When body sensory information is provided, the driver can control drift adequately, feeding back the roll angle information in steering. The importance of the driver’s perception of the state of the vehicle was thus confirmed, and a desirable future direction for driver assistance systems was determined.

EFFECT OF THE FRONT AND REAR WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION RATIO OF A FORMULA CAR DURING MAXIMUM-SPEED CORNERING ON A CIRCUIT

H. NOZAKI 한국자동차공학회 2008 International journal of automotive technology Vol.9 No.3

Because Formula cars are lighter than ordinary cars, the optimal settings for this type of car are thought to be different from those of a ordinary car. The front and rear weight distribution ratio of a vehicle is an important parameter that exerts a significant influence on critical cornering. The tendency of a ordinary car to under-steer during critical cornering is determined by the front and rear weight distribution ratio of the vehicle. Specifically, when the front of an ordinary FR (frontengine, rear wheel drive) vehicle is slightly heavier than the rear, the car tends to understeer during critical cornering. However, the optimal weight distribution ratio for critical cornering is not obvious for a formula car because of its lightness. This observation was investigated using a driving course similar to a real driving course to perform a maximum speed cornering simulations. It was found that a front to rear weight distribution ratio of 40:60 resulted in the fastest lap time. This ratio also gave the best results in the maximum-speed driving experiment performed using a driving simulator. Moreover, the maximum lateral acceleration during turning, the driving force, and the load movement of the inside and outside wheels was calculated using experimental driving force data and the concept of a tire friction circle. As a result, driving mechanics have been determined for a vehicle having a front/rear weight distribution ratio of 40:60 while traveling at maximum speed. Because Formula cars are lighter than ordinary cars, the optimal settings for this type of car are thought to be different from those of a ordinary car. The front and rear weight distribution ratio of a vehicle is an important parameter that exerts a significant influence on critical cornering. The tendency of a ordinary car to under-steer during critical cornering is determined by the front and rear weight distribution ratio of the vehicle. Specifically, when the front of an ordinary FR (frontengine, rear wheel drive) vehicle is slightly heavier than the rear, the car tends to understeer during critical cornering. However, the optimal weight distribution ratio for critical cornering is not obvious for a formula car because of its lightness. This observation was investigated using a driving course similar to a real driving course to perform a maximum speed cornering simulations. It was found that a front to rear weight distribution ratio of 40:60 resulted in the fastest lap time. This ratio also gave the best results in the maximum-speed driving experiment performed using a driving simulator. Moreover, the maximum lateral acceleration during turning, the driving force, and the load movement of the inside and outside wheels was calculated using experimental driving force data and the concept of a tire friction circle. As a result, driving mechanics have been determined for a vehicle having a front/rear weight distribution ratio of 40:60 while traveling at maximum speed.

IMPROVEMENT OF DRIFT RUNNING PERFORMANCE BY STEERING SYSTEM WHICH ADDS DIFFERENTIATION STEER ASSISTANCE

NOZAKI H. The Korean Society of Automotive Engineers 2005 International journal of automotive technology Vol.6 No.6

In this research, an effective technique was examined to improve the drift running performance. Concretely, the driver model by which the counter steer was done was assumed to the model by which the vehicle body slip angle (and the vehicle body slip angle velocity) was feed back. Next, the effectiveness of the system which added the assist steer angle corresponding to the steering wheel angle velocity to a front wheel steer angle was clarified as a drift running performance improvement technique of the vehicle. As a result, because the phase advances when the differentiation steer assistance is added, it has been understood to be able to cover the delay of the counter steer when the drift running. Therefore, it has been understood that the drift control does considerably easily. Moreover, it has been understood that the differentiation steer assistance acts effectively at the drift cornering by which the drift angle is maintained in cornering and the severe lane change with a drift at a situation. That is, it was understood to be able to settle to the drift angle of the aim quickly at the time of the drift cornering because the delay of the control steer angle of the counter steer was improved. Moreover, it was understood for the transient overshoot of the vehicle tracks to be able to decrease, and to return to the state of stability quickly at the severe lane change.