Modeling Techniques and Parameter Estimation for the Simulation of Complex Vehicle Structures

The numerical simulation of complex vehicle structures requires dynamic models for passenger cars as well as for trucks and vehicles with trailers. Tailored numerical modeling and integration techniques must be employed to achieve real-time capability of the considered vehicle dynamics program which is vital for its use within hardware-in-the-loop test-benches. To efficiently calibrate the vehicle model a parameter estimation tool was developed which relies on observations obtained from driving tests. Combining robust nonlinear optimization algorithms and careful numerical differentiation it is well suited for low-cost parallel computing platforms, such as heterogeneous PC clusters, which are usually available for automotive suppliers and industries employing vehicle dynamics simulations