M.S.E. Thesis Defense 

An Investigation of the Potential to Improve
Passenger Vehicle Dynamics Using Active Systems

Mr. Matthew E. Herd
Advisor: Professor Mark Yim
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Pennsylvania

Abstract
          This paper will cover the details of the design, construction, and testing of a rear active roll compensation system for the improvement of cornering performance.  In order to assess the potential improvement, simple models of the steady state dynamics allow us to see how the vehicle’s cornering performance is affected by motion of the center of gravity due to chassis roll.  This allows us to gauge the theoretical effectiveness of roll compensation.  The actual system is then tested in steady state cornering to assess true improvement and validate the theory.  In practice the implementation is far from ideal, but it does reveal some of the potential of active roll compensation in a modern passenger vehicle.  Tests show that active roll compensation does indeed improve cornering performance by delaying chassis weight transfer and allowing real time adjustment of handling behavior on all four wheels.  With adequate development and integration with active or semi-active bump compensation, active suspension technology has the potential to yield nearly ideal handling performance.

Thursday, November 30th
10:00 AM; 319 Towne Bldg.