Design of a motorcycle mount with integrated roll-and-pitch-torque measurement on a motorcycle simulator

On the new motorcycle simulator developed by the Institute of Automotive Engineering (FZD) of the Technische Universität Darmstadt, a measuring system should be incorporated with the aim of deter-mining the forces generated by the motion of therider. The objective of this thesis is to design a mount for the future simulator capable of measuringthe two main outputsof rider motion: the roll and pitch rider-induced torques. The current simulator of the department located at WIVW measures only the torque around the rolling axis and the used concept does not provide the desired performance nor precision; the solution designed in this thesis should present an improvement in regards to those features as well.In order to come up with the most suitable design, the standard product development proceeding has been followed. First, by defining the demands of the mount on a request list. Next, following an organized creative process, several concepts have been proposed. All the alternatives have been eval-uated in regards to relevant criteria and the most appropriate solution has been chosen. An exhaustive multibody model has been developed using MatLAB/Simulink with Simscape extension in order to analyze the dynamic behavior of the chosen solution under any possible scenario.Finally, a basic CAD of the system has been carried out in order to materialize the constructive solutions that will bring the concept into reality. Other constructive insights have been also treated, like the bearing selection, among others. The selected approach consists on a three-legged surface that is attached to the motion platform of the simulator and serves as a base for the mock-up attachment.The orientation of the legs define the height of two coincident rotating axes(rolling and pitching), creating a mechanism able to rotateits surfacearound a desired center of rotation.When the rotation around those axes is fixed trough meas-uring elements, the rider-induced torques measuring system is enabled. By positioning said CoR at the height of the system’s CoG, most of the measuring imprecisions that presents the current simulator are eliminated, since the greatest part of inertial forces generated by the platform motion have no longer an effect on the measuring dat

Dual Loop Rider Control of a Dynamic Motorcycle Riding Simulator

Compared to the automotive industry, the use of simulators in the motorcycle domain is negligible as for their lack of usability and accessibility. According to the state-of-the-art, it is e.g. not possible for motorcyclists to intuitively control a high-fidelity dynamic motorcycle riding simulator when getting in contact with it for the first time. There are four main reasons for the insufficient simulation quality of dynamic motorcycle riding simulators: ▪ The instability of single-track vehicles at low speed, ▪ The steering force-feedback with highly velocity-dependent behavior, ▪ Motion-simulation (high dynamics, roll angle, direct contact to the environment), ▪ The specific influence of the rider to vehicle dynamics (incl. rider motion). The last bullet point is peculiar for motorcycles and dynamic motorcycle riding simulators in comparison with other vehicle simulators, as motorcycles are significantly affected in their dynamics by the rider’s body motion. However, up until today, almost no special emphasis has been put on the consideration of rider motion on dynamic motorcycle riding simulators. In this thesis, a motorcycle riding simulator is designed, constructed and put into operation. The focus here is attaching a real rider to a virtual motorcycle. Based on a commercially available multi-body-simulation model, a simulator architecture is designed, that allows to control the virtual motorcycle not only by steering, but by rider leaning as well. This is realized by determining the so-called rider induced roll torque, that allows a holistic measurement of the apparent coupling forces between rider and simulator mockup. Performance measures and study concepts are developed that allow to rate the system. In expert and participant studies, the influence of the system on the riding behavior of the simulator is investigated. It is shown that the rider motion determination allows realistic control inputs and has a positive effect on the stabilization at various velocities. The feedback of the rider induced roll torque to the virtual dynamics model allows study participants to control the virtual motorcycle more intuitively. The vehicle states during cornering are affected as expected from real riding. First results indicate that it becomes easier for naïve study participants to access the simulator in first-contact scenarios. The achieved improvements regarding the rideability of the simulator however do not suffice to overcome the abovementioned challenges to a degree that allows for a completely intuitive interaction with the simulator throughout the whole dynamic range