Lab Session: Complex Tire and Road

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Lab Session: Complex Tire and Road

Introduction
This tutorial illustrates the overall procedures in defining the Complex Tire and
Road elements. It also reviews the procedures of creating a spline curve and
bushing element. This tutorial is intended to increase you familiarity with adding
tires and road elements to models.

Getting Started
To open the model,
1. Open Complex_Tire.CATAnalysis.

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Create the User Parameters

Environment Settings
There are specific settings that must be activated within the environment window
to allow for the visualization of the defined parameters within the Specification
Tree.
From the Main Menu, select Tools Options.
1. Since all of our parameters will be defined within the Analysis document,
Select the Motion branch of the Options Tree and activate the selections
Show parameters and Show relations.
2. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.

Defining Parameters
1. Click the Formula button

from the bottom toolbar.

2. Within the Formulas dialog, Click on the Import button.

3. From the File Selection dialog, select the file parameters.xls from the
complex_tire directory. Click Open to close the dialog.
4. An Import Result dialog box will open showing all the parameters that were
previously defined in the Excel worksheet, Click the OK button.

5. Click OK to close the Formulas dialog box. A new Parameters branch should
now appear in the Specification Tree below the Analysis Model branch of the
Specification Tree.

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Insert a Road Element (Flat Road)

1. Click the Road
dialog.

button from the Data toolbar. This will bring up the Road

2. Change the Name field entry to read Flat Road.

3. Left and then Right-click in the Curve Name field entry and select New from
the resulting menu. This will bring up a second Function dialog.

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4. Change the Name field entry to Flat Road Function.

5. Select SPLINE.CURVE from the Function Type drop-down menu.
6. Left and then Right-click in the Curve field entry and select New from the
contextual menu. This will bring up a third Spline Curve dialog.
7. Change the Name Field Entry to Flat Road Curve.
8. In the Curve Data section of the dialog, click the Add button to add a default
value of (0,0) to the X Length and Z Length lists.
9. In the field below the X Length list, enter 1.
10. Click the Add button again to add a value of (1,0).
11. Set the Interpolation Field Entry to LINEAR.
12. Click OK to close the Spline Curve dialog.
13. Click OK to close the LengthLength Function dialog.
14. Click OK to close the Road dialog box.

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Insert a Bushing Element

A bushing element is inserted to the interface between the carrier and the shock
bodies to reduce swing and vibration.
1. Click the Standard Bushing button

from the Bushing Forces toolbar.

2. The Bushing Force element requires that two axes be selected. In the
Specification Tree under Product1_Root shock (shock.1) shock Axis
Systems, select the Bushing Carrier_Shock Axis branch, this will populate
the Body 1 Field Entry.
3. In the Specification Tree under Product1_Root carrier (carrier.1) carrier
Axis Systems, select the Absolute Axis System branch as the Body 2
Field Entry.
4. Right-click the Spring Conical X field and choose Edit formula from the
contextual menu.
5. In the blank field, enter the value (RSTIFF * 5.7295779513082e+001) *
1Nxm_rad. (You may click RSTIFF from the Parameter branch of the
Specification Tree instead of typing RSTIFF.)
6. Click OK to close the Formula Editor dialog.
7. Repeat steps 5-7 for Spring Conical Y and Spring Torsional.
8. Right-click in the Damping Conical X field and select Edit formula from the
contextual menu.
9. Enter the value (RDAMP *5.7295779513082e+001) * 1m2kg_s_rad
10. Repeat step 9-11 for Damping Conical Y and Damping Torsional fields
11. Click OK in the Standard Bushing dialog box.

Insert a Tire Element

1. Click the Complex Tire button

from the Tire Forces toolbar.

2. Under the Product1_ROOT tire (tire.1) tire Axis System branch of the
Specification Tree, select the Absolute Axis System as the Tire Body Field
Entry.
3. Under the Product1_ROOT carrier (carrier.1) carrier Axis System
branch of the Specification Tree, select the Absolute Axis System as the
Chassis Body field entry.
4. Right-click in the Radius field and choose Edit formula from the contextual
menu.
5. Under the Analysis Model branch of the Specification Tree, select
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Parameters RADIUS from the Specification Tree. Click OK to close the

Formula dialog.
6. Follow the same basic steps (6 & 7) for the Vertical Stiffness and Damping
fields using the VSTIFF and VDAMP parameters respectively.
7. At the bottom of the Parameters section of the Complex Tire dialog, toggle
the Type radio button to Full.
The dialog should look similar to the following picture.

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8. Click the OK button to save the values and close the dialog.

Solve the Model

1. Double-Click the Solution Set branch from the Specification Tree, and
change the solution Ending Time to 5s. Select OK to close the dialog.
2. Click the Compute Solution button

3. Once the Solution has completed successfully, click the Close Window
button in the Computing dialog box.

Animate the Model

1. Select Solution Set from the Specification Tree.
2. Click the Animate button from the Mechanism Design Workbench. This will
bring up the Animation Toolbar.
3. Click the Play Forward button

from this toolbar to display the animation.

Selecting a new Road Profile

1. Within the model Specification Tree under Product1_Root, Right-Click on the
road.1 (road.2) branch and Select Hide/Show from the resulting menu. A
surface profile with two bumps should now appear.
2. Double-Click the Analysis Model branch of the Specification Tree to activate
the Mechanism Design workbench. Create a new Road Profile, name it
Bumpy Road.
3. Left and then Right-Click in the Elements/Curve Field Entry. Select New from
the resulting Menu. Change the name of the new function to Bumpy Road
Function.
4. Left and then Right-Click in the Curve Field Entry. Select New from the
resulting menu. Change the Name Field Entry to Bumpy Road Curve.
Toggle the Reference External Data option, and select the file road.txt from
the project folder. Click OK to close the Spline Curve dialog. Click OK to
close the Function dialog. Click OK to close the Road definition dialog.
5. Double-Click to edit the Complex Tire.1.
6. Under Elements->Road, highlight and select Bumpy Road from the
specification tree. Click OK to close the Complex Tire dialog.

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Solve the Model

1. Select the Solution Set branch from the Specification Tree.
2. Click the Compute Solution button

Once the Solution has completed successfully, click the Close Window button in
the Computing dialog box.

Animate the Model

1. Select Solution Set from the Specification Tree.
2. Click the Animate button from the Mechanism Design Workbench. This will
bring up the Animation Toolbar.
Click the Play Forward button

from this toolbar to display the animation.

Conclusion
Congratulations, this completes the Virtual.Lab Motion Complex Tire and Road
Lab.

Virtual.Lab Motion Advanced Training