Vehicle dynamics laboratory with racing karts

Vehicle dynamics is the study of the forces that occur during driving and which influence the behavior of a vehicle. Inertial forces cause rolling and pitching motions, the spring-damper system is induced by the road surface and thus also causes the vehicle body to vibrate - the feeling when driving over a bump caused by the acceleration of the sprung and unsprung masses.

As an automotive engineer, you can imagine a moving vehicle as a construct with countless force vectors with a specific direction and length. If the axle geometry is changed, the resulting forces also change. But how do you influence camber or toe, for example, and what noticeable changes does this result in?

In order to make such force vectors more tangible, we have established a laboratory as a supplement to the lecture on vehicle dynamics. The aim of this laboratory is to enable students to relate their theoretical knowledge to practical applications. Two racing karts have been modified in student projects so that the classic parameters of the chassis geometry, such as camber, toe and caster, can be changed and adapted. Due to the large variety of adjustment possibilities, different driving conditions on circular tracks or similar tracks can be realized and tested.

Since our laboratory also has a certain dynamic, students can carry out such modifications as project work or design projects, so that they can participate in the development of this laboratory themselves.