Using the Milliken Moment Method and dynamic simulation to evaluate vehicle stability and controllability

Abstract

The Milliken Moment Method (MMM) effectively organises kinematically constrained vehicle test results. The authors present a method for evaluating vehicle handling; assessing the overall performance capability with the MMM then using the closed-loop dynamic simulation to determine how much of that performance is used for a real manoeuvre. By mapping the simulation data onto the yaw moment-lateral acceleration diagram from the MMM, this method explicitly quantifies the tradeoff between vehicle controllability and stability. Results from a design case study and comparison of the stability measure to phase plane analysis are presented and show the potential efficacy of the proposed approach.