University of Waterloo

Department of Mechanical Engineering

ME524 – Advanced Dynamics

ADAMS Tutorial 2 Winter 2007

Objective

This tutorial outlines the steps to model the corner car two-degree-of-freedom system as
discussed in class. Students should be able to set up this model based on the experience in
completing tutorial 1 since this tutorial follows the same procedure.

Problem Description

The car corner is modeled as a two degree-of-freedom system as illustrated in Figure 1.

Consider the following input parameters to compare with the appropriate MATHCAD
analysis: m1 = 15 kg, m2 = 96.11 kg, k1 = 109 N/mm, k2 = 4.7 N/mm, c1 = 6.73 N∙s/m, c2
= 0.67 N∙s/m. Note the use of N-mm-s units here, instead of N-m-s in MATHCAD. Note
that the appropriate spring pre-load values are m2g and (m1 + m2)g for springs k2 and k1,
respectively.

Figure 1: The car-corner model

Procedure:
Our general procedure will be the same as for tutorial 1. Refer to tutorial 1 for detailed
instructions.
1. start and set-up ADAMS and get familiar with the interface;
2. create the masses for our model;
 3. create necessary joints, including joints with specified motion to apply to our
system;
4. create springs and dampers;
5. verify the model (appropriate degrees of freedom);
6. establish static equilibrium;
7. perform a linear stability analysis;
8. perform a dynamic simulation); and
9. view and export the results.

1. Start and Set up ADAMS:

Starting ADAMS
Specify a different model name and the default directory (Start in…). Use CarCorner_1
as the model name, and any appropriate directory.

2. Creating Masses:

Create a block for the car body, called Mass_2. Use dimensions 1 m long by 1 m deep by
20 cm high. Set the mass to m2. Centre the mass 800 mm above the ground, on the y-axis.

Create a cylinder for the tire and suspension, called Mass_1. Make the cylinder 20 cm
long and 20 cm in radius. Set the mass of the tire equal to m1, and centre the mass on the
y-axis tangent to the x-axis. This will require some trial and error until you get used to
rotations and translations in ADAMS.

Create a block to represent the road. Make the block 20 cm long by 20 cm deep and 5 cm
high. Centre it about the y-axis and make its top surface tangent with the tire.

3. Create Joints

Create translational joints for each of the three masses, located at the centre of mass, and
aligned with the global y-axis. Note that you should check several views to ensure
that the joints are created in the correct orientation.

Create a suitable input from the road. For example, a step input can be created using:

STEP (time , t0 , y0 , t1 , y1 )

Where these arguments correspond to: time (defining time as the dependent variable),
initial time, initial function value (displacement in this case), final time, and final
function value.

Note that a trapezoidal input to represent a bump in the road, Figure 2, can be input using
the summation of two step functions. It has the following form so long as y0 = 0:

step(time, t0, y0, t1, y1) + step(time, t2, y0, t3, -y1)
 y1

y0

t=0 t0 t1 t2 t3

Figure 2: Trapezoidal displacement function

Note that the sign of y1in each of the above expressions may have to be reversed to get
the correct motion depending on how the joint was defined (as ground first, then the
mass, or vice versa).

4. Create Springs and Dampers:

Create springs and dampers between the centres of the masses as appropriate, and input
the required data.

5. Verify the Model

6. Find Equilibrium Position

7. Linear Systems Analysis

Perform a linear systems analysis, and compare the results to the MATHCAD results.
Note that ADAMS returns natural frequencies in Hz, not radians/s. Also, the real part of
the eigenvalues must be multiplied by 2π to compare with the MATHCAD results.

8. Run a Time Domain Simulation

9. View and Export Results