Constructing equations of motion for a vehicle rigid body model

This paper focuses on generating equations of motion for a Vehicle model. The generated equations can be used for rigid body analysis such as vibration analysis, frequency domain analysis, and time domain analysis. The paper starts with the equations of motion of a 6- degree-of-freedom (DOF) system and demonstrates detailed approach in building the equations. Next, the equations of motion are built for a 12-DOF vehicle model, which can be used as an approximated Vehicle model in most cases. Finally, the rigid body of an accurate Vehicle model is created and the equations of motion are constructed following the presented method. © 2008 SAE International.